The Love Triangle
by Fuji's Girl
Summary: Finally, last Chapter up! Fuji and Sakuno finally get married just a few minutes after they nearly get drowned in a river. And what are Inui and Eiji doing spying on both of them on their honeymoon? Ooooh, what will Fuji do to them now :D? R and R please!
1. Maaya Nadeshiko?

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of tennis or any of its characters, but I do love using them like mindless puppets on strings! Beware, the puppet master is here! (I am such an evil disoriented person, am I not?)

**Chapter One**

**Maaya Nadeshiko?**

* * *

"Nya, Fujiko! We're finally here!" declared an ecstatic Eiji, bouncing up and down his seat as the bus pulled up the driveway of Hokkaido Honshuu Beach Resort.

"Saa, grinned the brunette seated next to him. "The reunion committee picked a great spot. It seems that the place is a bit crowded though."

People were pouring into the high class resort like a colony of ants.

"Hoi! Hoi! I wonder what's going on!" Eiji frantically stuck his head out of the window and scanned the crowd before pulling his head back inside when he heard a very familiar cold voice next to their seats.

"Eiji, 10 laps around the resort, now."

"Hai…." sighed the energetic red head.

"Minna-san." Tezuka turned away to face his former teammates who were busy with their own business.

"Tezuka-buchou?" Ryoma cocked an eyebrow at the former Seigaku tennis captain.

"Don't let your guard down."

* * *

"Baka, Mamushi!"

"Ahou!"

Ryoma woke grudgingly to the harmonious sound of Momoshiro-sempai and Kaidoh-sempai fighting and squabbling in the sand. He squinted his eyes as he watched his sempai's roar and scream at one another, just like they used to in middle school.

Here they were on a private beach resort making fools out of themselves even though they were both supposed to be mature businessmen out on a club reunion.

"Hnn…" muttered the eighteen year old world tennis champion.

Nothing had changed, nothing at all. Eiji was still the same bubbly, acrobatic, kitty-faced person, Oishi still his motherly self, Taka-san was still shouting his famous BURNING!! Inui was still scribbling madly at his notebook, Tezuka was still his ever stoic non-smiling himself, Fuji still with his eerie sadistic smile, and the two rivals Momoshiro and Kaidoh still battling over each other.

Geez his sempai-tachi didn't change a bit. Ryoma liked it better that wasn't too fond of the word after all. He liked things staying the way they were.

"Momoshiro no baka!" "Urusai!"

Ryoma watched fondly as the two went on bickering.

"Ne, thinking of old times, Echizen?" a figure came up to him sat next to him. He leaned to find Fuji looking speculatively at him as if trying to read his mind.

"Hnn…Fuji-sempai" he addressed the smiling tensai.

"Reminiscing the past is fun, ne, Echizen?" _Especially when you see others suffer because of it_…Fuji walked away silently leaving the boy to himself. He would make sure Echizen Ryoma would get what he deserved. As for now , he would walk away. It wasn't time yet. Besides, there was something he had to do first.

"Inui, don't you think those two over there have had enough bickering for one day?" he approached the great data man. Inui looked up from his notebook, a creepy grin tugging at his face.

"Iie,data. I know just the cure for them." Out of nowhere, he whipped two jugfuls of green oozing liquid whose smell would make anyone faint, except for Fuji of course. He wasn't just anyone.

Inui was taking long strides towards his two teammates when his cerulean eyed friend stopped him.

"Saa, Inui-san, leave some Aozu Remix 2.0 for me."

"There's a 90% chance there'll be plenty left for you, and the a 100% probability that you'll say that it's the best thing that you've ever tasted." he replied.

After a few minutes Inui returned with two jugs still half-filled leaving behind two figures sprawled on the sand for Oishi to worry about and tend to.

"Here you go." "Thanks, Inui."

After gulping down the liquid , Fuji said that it was the best thing he ever tasted. Oishi looked at the two and fainted when Inui glanced his way with an evil gleam in his glasses, saying that he was to be the next lucky victim of his experiment.

Ahhhh….the horrors of Inui juice.

* * *

"Ahh, Minna-san, gomennasai for being late." apologized their former coach who had just arrived in the crammed beach resort.

She looked at her former team that had just come up from the beach.

"It's alright Ryuuzaki-sensei." they chorused. "Arigatou. Have you checked in yet?"

"Hai," answered their former buchou. "Each room has two beds, and we reserved five. All of us will be sharing rooms. Momoshiro will bunk with Kaidoh, Echizen with Fuji, Oishi will be with Kikumaru, Inui will stay with Taka and the both of us will share the same room, Ryuuzaki-sensei."

He handed each of them their own separate keys to the rooms.

" Good." answered Ryuuzaki-sensei. "Now, all of you, go get some rest, then come down to the Sizzling Honoo restaurant later for dinner. I really want to know what all of you have been up to all these years."

As soon as they were done unpacking and resting they all went down to eat.

* * *

"So, what have you people been doing?" Ryuuzaki-sensie asked over dinner.

"Well sensei…" Oishi began explaining. "Tezuka as we all expected is now a pro tennis player and a part time lawyer, Fuji owns several studios, Kawamura has his own line of restaurants including this restaurant…."

"Nani?!"interrupted the surprised coach, the sushi dropping out of her mouth. "No wonder the food tastes sizzling wonderful!"

" It's nothing actually." quipped an embarrassed Kawamura, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

"What about the rest?" Ryuuzaki-sensei asked Oishi who was busy using his motherly instincts in trying to get Kikumaru to behave like a civilized person and not like an acrobat.

"Eiji! What was that Ryuuzaki-sensei? Oh the rest. Well, um, let me see…Momoshiro owns a burger joint which rivals with Kiadoh's burger joint. Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Kaidoh also has two petshops and works as a veterinarian while Eiji and I both coah the same gymnastics and tennis teams, and of course I wouldn't want to forget Inui. He works as a research scientist and is currently working on-" Oishi's explanation was suddenly cut off by Inui who dumped something into the coach's glass.

"-The latest version of Aozu Wasabi Mizu 5!" finished the former Data man of Seigaku as he handed the glass over to his sensei.

All eyes were on the choking woman, as if telling her desperately not to drink it while Inui was waiting expectantly for her to drink the concoction.

"Arigatou, Inui, demo, I'm not that thirsty." She blurted out hastily.

Heaving a heavy sigh of defeat, Inui returned to jotting down notes on his notebook. All of the other's were glad she didn't drink it.

"Well…" Ryuuzaki-sensei spoke up, clearing the air in the restaurant since they reserved it for their reunion.

"You don't need to tell me how Echizen is." she said with a smile to which the young lad addressed; busy drinking his grape ponta, only answered a cold 'mada mada dane'.

"That's Echizen alright!" Momoshiro laughed boisteriously as soon as he heard his kouhai talk.

"Minna-san, I am so pleased that all of you are doing―" spoke their sensei when all out of the blue the restaurant door was shoved open to make way for a beautiful petite, ebony-haired woman who was panting. All of them stared at the stranger who by accident tripped on something making the glasses she had on fall, revealing stunningly gorgeous chocolate eyes.

"Gomen. Honto ni gomennasai!" the woman apologized, bowing down repeatedly. "But I really had to get away from those people chasing me. I…I was so afraid that I would die out there…."

Fuji, who couldn't resist helping anyone in distress gave the lady a glass of cool refreshing water. "Saa, you will be alright now Miss." He reassured the girl who calmed down a bit after drinking what he gave her.

"Arigatou." she thanked.

All the regulars told the woman that they would help her with the trouble that she was in. Eiji bounced up to her and gave one of his hugs when he suddenly realized who he was hugging.

"You― you are Maaya Nadeshiko!!" screamed Eiji.

"Maaya Nadeshiko?!!" chorused all the others, except for Tezuka, Echizen and Fuji.

"Can we ask for your autograph?" They all hurriedly ran to her but ended up scaring her away when she saw that they were ready to do anything to have her signature. She didn't want that.

"Waaah…coooome back Maaya-san!" wailed Eiji, dropping down on his knees.

"It was all your fault Mamushi!" Momo blamed his rival who was hissing sadly next to him. "Baka, you were the one who frightened her away!"

The two bigan another bicker, while Oishi comforted Kikumaru who was crying excessively while Inui was scribbling about the girl that had just run away.

Ryuuzaki-sensei just stared at them.

Since when did her former team become huge fans of Maaya Nadeshiko?

Echizen was confused. "Ne, buchuo, who is this Maaya Nadeshiko?" he asked Tezuka who was seated next to him.

"Japan's most famous singer/actress," came the blunt reply.

There was a twinkle in the former captain's eye as he said it which didn't go unnoticed by Fuji. After all Fuji was and always will be Seigaku's Tensai.

"You're one of her fans, aren't you Tezuka?" "Hmmm…" was all the captain could muster after being found.

He was embarrassed by the revelation so greatly that he actually blushed slightly. Imagine the ever great Kunimitsu Tezuka blushing?

Was the world going to end? Well, at least none of them noticed except for Fuji who was grinning oh so widely.

"_I really should have brought my camera along with me,"_ thought Fuji._ "This could've been great black mail material. I really do love to make others suffer." _

"Oh, that's not a surprise to hear. After all, she is a very beautiful and talented singer, isn't she Tezuka?" he teased further.

"Betsuni," answered the buchou.

"Hai, she is very beautiful…"Fuji continued.

"_Demo, there's something that make's her seem so familiar…"_ he thought to himself. _"Those beautiful chocolate eyes…they really remind me of a certain someone…" _

"Well then minna-san," the voice of their coach which still had the tint of sternness in it, interrupted the tensai's scouring thoughts that rambled like mice about his head. "It seems like we spent two hours of our relaxing time in here. It's best that we all retire for the night. We have so many things to do tomorrow, which includes buying tickets to Maaya Nadeshiko's concert in the resort in advance."

Upon hearing what Ryuuzaki-sensei said, all of the regulars obeyed her like a flash of lightning and rushed out of the restaurant.

"Hoi! Matte Kudasai! Who's going to pay for all of this?" she called after them, before sighing in frustration. "Geez, I guess I'll have to do it. Who knew that they would be this crazy over her?"

She was a bit irritated at her thoughtless tennis players and knitted her brows as she thought about them. They were already full grown men, and still, they acted like children sometimes. But thinking of something else, the stern Ryuuzaki Ryuuzaki smiled faintly.

"She will be very happy to know that they're her biggest fans. Hmph….she will be very happy indeed."

* * *

**Japanese Terms**

Ahou – idiot, fool

Arigatou – thank you

Baka – jerk, idiot, fool

Betsuni – nothing

Buchou – captain

Gomenasai – sorry, I'm sorry

Honto ni – really

Minna-san – everyone

Tensai – genius

Urusai – shut up

Matte – wait

Kudasai – please

* * *

**A/N:** Hello minna-san! This is a repost of chapter one, and finally it's completed! I can finally move on to typing chapter two. Hurrah to me! Actually, I'm near to done, but it's all written in a notebook so it has to be typed after.

Thank you for all your reviews, I really, really appreciate them! : )

I hope that I got the format right this time…I really am having trouble with it. You don't know how many times I edited the chapter. Special thanks to Red Jell-o for helping me out with the format. I am so indebted to you. Red Jell-o, it isn't your fault that I deleted it, actually it was mine.

I accidentally pressed delete without thinking and whoosh, the story went down the drain. : (

Well anyway, I hope you enjoyed it… Chapter Two coming up!

Who actually is Maaya Nadeshiko? What does she have to do with them all? What did Ryoma do to make Fuji mad at him?

Find it all out in: Chapter Two, Starlit Memories

PS. Please don't forget to review. I love knowing your comments, they help me improve.


	2. Starlit Memories

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of tennis or any of its characters, but I do love using them like mindless puppets on strings! Beware, the puppet master is here! (I am such an evil disoriented person, am I not?)

**A/N: Okay so before we proceed to chapter two, to all those who missed the continuation of chapter one please turn back to the last page. To those who are done with everything in chapter one (which includes the appearance of Maaya Nadeshiko) please move on. Thank you, and sorry for the inconvenience. : )**

**Chapter 2 **

**Starlit Memories**

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

"Oyasumi nasai, Echizen." Fuji told the feline-eyed lad who was jumping into the single decker next to his own.

"What do you want Fuji-sempai?" answered Echizen, staring coldy into his eyes. He knew Fuji well enough to know that the tennis prodigy had something deeper in mind.

"Saa, nothing. Can't a sempai say goodnight to his kouhai?"

The room drowned in silence soon after and slumber overtook Ryoma who was a bit exhausted from the recent Wimbledon match he had been in before the reunion.

The older boy on the other hand was kept awake by the appearance of Miss Nadeshiko during their dinner previously.

"No wonder the resort is packed with people. Most of them must be her fans, demo, something startles me though. Why do I have a feeling that we've met before, that somehow she could be her?"

His sparkling cerulean eyes pierce the darkness as his thoughts go deeper and deeper.

Twisting and tossing in his bed, he just couldn't take his thoughts away from her familiarity.

"Ugh, I can't sleep."

He padded softly towards the balcony door and opened its chestnut frame to be greeted by the sight of gems in the sky. He took a deep breathe as he gazed at the star-lit sky.

Oh, how beautiful it was to see.

He just loved to look at those celestial bodies hanging way up above him.

Looking at them could soothe and calm his heart.

That was what he told her way back when. It was a starlit night; just like this one. She had given her heart to her special someone that night only to have it shattered into a million pieces. She was running blindly; tears falling down her face when she stumbled on him. He was laying down on a field looking at the sky and she ended up falling on top of him.

Fuji smiled as he recalled the conversation that they had that night.

"_Daijoubo ka, Sakuno-chan?" asked Fuji as soon as he recognized his kouhai who was right on top of him, her face centimeters away from his. _

"_Eeeep! Fuji-sempai! Gomen nasai, gomen nasai, gomen nasai, gome―" _

"_It's alright Sakuno-chan," he told her, putting a finger to her lips. _

"_Honto ni gomen ne, Fuji-sempai. I didn't know you were there," she apologized once more, getting up with a blush adorning her face._

"_Daijoubo,daijoubo. Ne, what's the matter Sakuno-chan? Why is my precious kouhai crying?" _

_She cried out her heart that night, telling him how stupid she was for getting her heart shredded; for ever thinking that person would return her feelings. _

_Fuji was torn that night. _

_He saw the pain that she felt, the anguish she was in, and was supposed to be gloating in his sadism but instead found his sadistic mask gone as he watched the crystal tears falling down her face. _

_How he wished that he would be the one crying in place of her; that he could take away all her sorrows. _

"_Don't worry Sakuno-chan…everything's going to be alright," he whispered, caressing the auburn-haired two years his junior tenderly as she clutched at his shirt, letting all her sadness out. _

_He didn't know his extremely shy kouhai was capable of doing that without blushing a million shades of red, but he did know that he wanted to be there for her. _

_After all, that's what sempais are for, right?_

"_Arigatou de gozaimasu, sempai, for listening. It really helped me a lot." she said, stifling her sobs. "It must have been very tiring for you to listen to me. I was disturbing you out here and it must have been a bother to you." _

_Fuji smiled and told her that it wasn't anything important. He was simply looking at the stars, that's all. _

"_Looking at the stars?"_

"_Hai. They seem to calm and soothe me every time I see them. Maybe they can soothe yours too, ne Sakuno-chan?" _

_She looked up at the sky and nodded, tears still dripping down. _

"_Sakuno-chan?" he asked her in a calming way. "Can you do a favor for me? Look at the stars and be happy Sakuno-chan. Don't be sad….smile always…." _

_She didn't know what to say, but somehow she felt lighter. Seeing her sempai smile at her as he said those words made her somewhat ….happy. _

"_Hai!" she answered, smiling back at him. "I will." _

Fuji looked up at the sky one more time before yawning.

"I wonder if my precious little kouhai is alright out there…" he though once more. "Don't worry Saku-chan, I'll make sure that he pays."

Returning back to bed, the tennis prodigy went to sleep dreaming of ways to torture Echizen Ryoma for tearing his favorite kouhai's heart and make sure that he would feel every ounce of pain that she went through.

He would make sure of that, as her sempai and as her bestfriend aside from Tomoka.

Echizen would pay.

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"Karumi-chan, it isn't funny!" the chocolate-eyed singer burst out, flailing her arms in a child-like manner.

Seeing the singer act that way made Karumi laugh harder.

It was hilarious to see Maaya all shaken up because of her overly eager fans. It was even funnier to tease her about it.

"Gomen ne, it's just so funny! I can't believe she ran away from her sempai-tachi like a frightened mouse, right, Ryuuzaki-san?" the manager of the famous star wailed, looking towards the old but still vigorous woman who had just come in to the platinum-selling singer's room to tell about her little scandal of the day.

Ryuuzaki-sensei gave her granddaughter an adoring look, nodding at Karumi's statement.

"Hmph," the beautiful girl pouted at both of them, taking off her black wig.

Shiny auburn hair cascaded down her back as she pulled it off.

"You know, Sakuno-chan…." Karumi trailed, grabbing a brush and immediately tending to those auburn locks as she pulled it off. "You should be happy that your sempai's are also your number one fans."

"Karumi-chan's right you know Sakuno. You should have seen the way Eiji wailed as soon as you left. Even Tezuka was disappointed that his crush disappeared," chuckled her Obaasan.

Sakuno smiled. "Oh, but I am happy," the singer said, walking towards the balcony.

Karumi grinned at her client. She was still the same sweet Sakuno she had met in high school. She was like that ever since, and she didn't change even though she had already become Japans number one singer.

The blue-haired manager watched in curiosity as the auburn head looked up at the bejeweled sky, laced with stars that shone like diamonds against the velvety black

night.

"I saw Ryoma-kun today…." Sakuno muttered quietly, gazing at the night sky. "I don't know way. Do I still love him like I used to?"

She clutched her arms, embracing herself as she whispered those words into the darkness of the night.

Sighing deeply, she closed her eyes and let out a faint smile. She had a feeling that there was something different with her emotions. She Didn't know what it was but she was sure that it was out there.

She didn't notice that her manager had witnessed everything. Karumi tiptoed back to her room with a determined look on her face.

"I'm definitely going to do something about that…"

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Fuji was smiling sadistically. His inner-self was laughing like crazy, he couldn't handle it.

He had handed Taka his racket before he splashed into the pool where Tezuka and Oishi were busy talking in the sides. Racket in hand, Kawamura shouted his famous 'BURNING BABY!!' before canonballing into the water.

"Nya, Taka-san" Eiji who was also in the pool tapped the shoulder of the power player who was shouting something about firewater.

The ever active Eiji's eyes were glued on a certain something or rather someone as he tapped Taka a second time.

"BURNING!! WHAT IS IT EIJI?"

Taka grinned then froze as soon as he caught sight of the direction of Eiji's eyesight.

There at the side of the pool was a soaking wet Tezuka who didn't look too happy about it.

Twitch. "Kawamura…"

"Hai buchou?"

"50 laps around the pool."

Poor Taka. The pool was half the length of an Olympic-sized one. Oh well. At least he had his racket with him.

Wait.

Who had given it to him in the first place?

Ugh. He couldn't remember. Never mind. "Alright! I'll do it, BUUUURRRNNIIINNNGG!!" With that the powerful tennis player raced around the pool like a speed boat.

"Teehee, that was fun," muttered the cause of Kawamura's situation. Looking for his next victim, the tennis prodigy smirked.

It seems that Echizen had escaped from his clutches, but not for long. Everything would start now.

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Ryoma sighed as he walked along the shore.

He just had to escape from Momoshiro-sempai's babbles about how much he loved his girlfriend, Ann. It was driving him insane. His sempai's blabber made pictures about Ryuuzaki-what-ifs keep on popping in his head.

Like what if he hadn't told Ryuuzaki that he didn't like her when he actually did, or what if he had taken time to know her more, or what if, what if……

Ryuuzaki Sakuno.

She was the only girl that he had ever allowed to be a part of his life. Since junior high he had never eaten a girl's homemade bentos, never walked a girl home, never even talked to a girl for more than a minute.

But she was an exemption to all of that.

Maybe it was because he knew that the girl truly cared for him, not like his stupid fangirls who wanted the tennis champion for his tennis skills.

He liked her, a lot.

He cared for the clumsy pigtailed auburn-head, but knowing the cocky brat, he never considered telling her. Back then tennis was everything to him and he had no room for her at the moment. He didn't know that he was breaking her heart, and his own as well.

That's why he hated it whenever he could hear anyone talk about how happily in love they were or when he could see couples going all lovey-dovey around him. It always reminded him of her and how much he missed her.

So as soon as he found an escape route, he hastily dashed off far away from his sempai.

Ryoma continued walking and stopped at a spot where he saw a large rest house near the shore.

"Hnnn…" ne muttered as he looked back.

Good. He was somewhere far, far away from his sempaitachi.

Turning back to the beach house, his eyes went as wide as saucers. Coming out of it was the singer that his sempaitachi scared off yesterday. Clothed only by a bathrobe, she proceeded to walk down the beach and remove it as soon as she touched the water. Apparently she hadn't noticed the boy who was standing a considerable distance away from her and who obviously couldn't take his eyes off the celebrity.

Why was he feeling this way?

Was it because of her porcelain-like skin? It couldn't be. He had seen women with complexions like that and not once did he feel this attracted.

Was it black hair? Of course not. He liked the color auburn on women.

Or maybe, it was her brown doe-like eyes?

Wait, brown doe-like eyes?

Ugh, of course. They had a semblance to Ryuuzaki's eyes. No wonder he was feeling this way. She reminded him of her. He had to get away fast. He might begin hallucinating Ryuuzaki images.

He took a last glimpse of her and ………..oh……..oh no….it was starting.

Okay he was seeing things.

Alright there was no Japanese singer taking off a black wig in front of him. It wasn't auburn hair he was seeing as she threw the wig away. Of course not.

He was just imagining, hallucinating.

It wasn't Ryuuzaki Sakuno he was ogling. It absolutely wasn't. To prove it, Ryoma pinched his cheek and rubbed his eyes before looking at her again. Her hair was still auburn. He did the process two times but still no black-haired woman reappeared in front of him.

Ryoma was stunned to the core. He wasn't dreaming.

The girl standing in front of him had auburn hair, brown eyes, creamy white skin, and if his memory served him right, she was none other than Ryuuzaki Sakuno― minus the braids.

He was engulfed in so much shock that he didn't notice the girl diving into the water. He snapped out of it after sometime and realized that she had been underwater four minutes ago and hadn't come up since; meaning only one thing.

"Ryuuzaki's in trouble!" he shouted out.

Frantically racing to the water, all reality was lost to him. The only thing that mattered now was saving Ryuuzaki, nothing else. Not tennis, not Karupin, not ponta.

"Kami-sama, help me save her…." he called for heavens help for the first time in his life.

Heaven on the other hand decided on the opposite.

Before he could even touch the water, a swarming crowd of fangirls rushed up to him with the speed of light. Trapping him in the heart of the mob, they caged him up with nowhere to go and dragged him off gleefully.

"Let me go! Stupid bitches! Let me go, now!" he practically screamed at them. "I have to save her!"

Their only response to their captured prey's commands and pleas was a louder shout, "Ryoma-sama, I love you!!" from each of them.

Just when he was about to save the only woman in his heart, they had to come and drag him off. Talk about great timing. He had to get to her, but there was no way out.

His fangirls were insane and dangerous.

He felt like a sacrifice in foreign tribal rituals while he could hear his fangirls' wild cries of I-love-yous, be-my-boyfriends, you're-my-soulmates, and we're destined to be togethers that sounded like barbaric chants to him.

But the tennis prince would not lose heart. Sakuno needed him and he was going to be there for her, to save her.

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Fuji was walking down the beach; thoughts on ways to torture his kouhai by the name of Echizen Ryoma. Passing by a rather large group of women, he couldn't help in hearing bits and pieces of their conversation. Coincidentally, they were talking about his kouhai. Ooooooh…….their chatter seems a lot more interesting now.

Standing by a nearby column, he learned that the group of women were the tennis prince's fangirls or a number of them.

Bling! A wonderful idea jumped into his head like a kangaroo.

The sadist immediately searched for the feline-eyed junior of his to put his plan into action. He walked hurriedly in search of him and in his haste he accidentally crashed into a woman. He had hit her so hard that the poor girl fell face flat on the ground.

"Gomen nasai! Daijoubo ka, Miss?" he apologized, immediately rushing to her side to help her up.

"I'm fine. It's alright……What?" the woman looked at him as she got up and put her hands to her blushing cheek. "Fuji-sempai?"

Fuji took a good look at the girl. Long blue hair, lavender eyes. He scanned his memory for a picture and then suddenly recalled the little girl he had helped long ago.

"Karumi-chan."

"What are you doing here sempai?"

"Oh, just on a little reunion. How about you? Are you on a vacation or something?"

"Iie, I'm here to manage Sa- um I mean, Maaya-san's concert next week."

Fuji looked at the girl and smiled. Being the gentleman that he was, he asked her if she was headed back to her place and offered to escort her there.

Karumi blushed. Fuji-sempai was so charming that she found it hard not to stutter in front of him as they walked on the white sandy ground. She was too busy finding the right words to say that she didn't notice the tennis genius's eyes scanning the beach for a cocky brat drinking ponta and donning a white Fila cap.

Once Fuji had found that kouhai of his, he saw him ogling an ebony-haired woman. Good thing Sakuno-chan wasn't here to see that lest she would faint right there and then.

Seeing that Echizen's numerous fangirls were unaware of their beloved Ryoma-sama's presence, he would enlighten them.

Changing the direction towards Echizens numerous fans, Fuji was glad that Karumi-chan hadn't noticed a single thing.

Step one accomplished. Now time for step two.

Moving closer towards the crowd of girls, Fuji abruptly asked, "Ne, Karumi-chan have you seen Echizen Ryoma around?"

"Echizen-san?" as innocent as ever the cute Karumi looked for the tennis champion along the sea side.

She was sure that she had seen a glimpse of the lad on the beach earlier.

Just as she had thought the boy was there.

"Oh there he is! Ryoma-san is there Fuji-sempai!" she cried out merrily.

Fuji smirked.

As sharp as dogs ears, the mob picked up the name of their dearest Ryoma-sama and raced towards him like hounds. If it was possible Fuji's smile was wider than before.

The two walked off, leaving behind them the screeching sounds and voices of the mob of girls dashing hurriedly towards the prince.

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Karumi thanked Fuji as soon as they got to the beach house. She wanted to invite the brunette in so badly that she was stuttering like mad as she asked the boy.

"Oh, alright then," ne nodded in response

"Can you wait for a second, Fuji-sempai? I have to check on Maaya-san," she said hastily as she flew to the door. She had to make sure that Sakuno was wearing her black wig lest her sempai finds out the truth behind Maaya Nadeshiko's real identity.

"You're living with Nadeshiko-san?"

Her sempai's velvety voice stopped her right in her tracks. "Hai…."

Great. She better move fast because Fuji-sempai was up to something. She could feel it. She knew her sempai well enough to know that nothing could stop him from prying into someone's secrets when he wanted to, and right now, it seemed that he was curious about the real Maaya. It was practically written all over his face with that silly grin of his, which Karumi of course found utterly adorable.

"Focus, Karumi, Focus!" her inner self chided her. Now was not the time to drool over her sempai. She had to make sure that Sakuno-chan was wearing her wig first. Then she could go back to drooling.

"Tadaimasu! Maaya-san, I'm back! Maaya-chan! Maaya-chan?"

Sakuno-chan definitely wasn't out; she knew that the singer would never do so, especially when she wanted to practice her expertise in the culinary arts. By the looks of the kitchen, it was obvious that she was planning to bake a cake.

Strawberries, chocolate, icing and dough were set on top of the kitchen counter and next to them was a bath towel.

Bath towel? The sea! Yes, that was where she was!

Rushing out the back door, the wide crystalline waters greeted her lavender eyes. No Maaya swimming gaily in sight.

Where could she be?

Worrying thoughts began to fill up her chest. What if she were kidnapped for ransom? Or raped? Or murdered? Or.....? Oh, no!

Karumi would never be able to forgive herself if anything happened to Sakuno. They were bestfriends and their relationship went way back. The two had known each other since high school and shared many of their treasured moments together.

_Sakuno-chan,where are you?_ Taking a final glance at the sea, she noticed something bobbing up and down the waters. She took a closer look and in horror screeched an ear-piercing scream.

"No!!!Sakuno-chan!!!!"

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**Japanese Terms**

Oyasumi nasai – good night

Daijoubo – it's alright

Daijoubo ka – are you alright

Gomen ne – I apologize, I'm sorry

Tadaimasu – I'm back

Kouhai – junior

Tensai – Genius

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**A/N:** Okay, so this is Chapter Two. Hoped you liked it. For those who missed out on things, Chapter one is finally complete. So if you think that there are some parts of the story that you think don't add up, just read the continuation of chapter one.

Well, how's the story? Is it okay? I really, really hope you enjoyed it.

I want to know your comments and suggestions, so please, please review! It's nice to know that someone cares enough to give out suggestions or simply comment on this newbie's drab piece of work… : )

Chapter 3 coming up soon.

What will happen to Sakuno-chan? Did she something bad happen to her? How about Ryoma? What will Karumi do?

Find it all out in Chapter 3, My Saviour.


	3. My Savior

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of tennis or any of its characters, but I do love using them like mindless puppets on strings! Beware, the puppet master is here! (I am such an evil disoriented person, am I not?)

**Chapter Three**

**My Savior**

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"Hmmm….I wonder what's taking Karumi-san so long." A slight frown formed on Fuji's face. It was getting late and he would surely get into trouble if he made them all worry about him.

His sadistic side really wanted to see them all suffer, but Tezuka's wrath was something he would gladly give up his sadism for; as long as he could avoid it.

Heaving a heavy sigh, the frustrated tensai sat on the porch.

Being a gentleman, he decided to wait a little bit longer. It would be rude of him to simply leave the girl when he had already accepted her invitation.

Looking down at the sand, Fuji recalled the last family trip he had with his father, mother, oneesan and outoto. He was still a senior in high school back then and had somehow managed to drag Sakuno-chan along.

They had gone to a beach where they had so much fun.

Fuji loved the memory of Yuuta blushing at Sakuno-chan's two-piece swimsuit, at the jokes they made and most of all the happiness that stayed with them during the trip.

He was smiling as he lost himself in his thoughts when all of the sudden —

"No!!! Sakuno-chan!!!" Karumi screamed from inside the house. Forcing himself in, the tensai ran towards the trembling blue haired girl. "Nan desu ka? Karumi-san?"

"Maaya, Sakuno…." She trembled pointing towards an object floating up and down the waves.

It was a bracelet and upon Fuji's further inspection he saw that it was a pink rubber bracelet. "_Huh? I've seen this somewhere before…." _Fuji trailed silently_ "It belongs to someone I know, and only one person I know loves pink—"_

Ryuuzaki Sakuno.

"Where is she?" he asked frantically. As soon as Karumi pointed at the sea, he dived in without a moment's hesitation.

Water enveloped the tensai's body and stung his eyes but no matter what it would take him he would get to Sakuno-chan. Diving deeper into the water, he scoured the sea bed until he found his kouhai.

Like a torpedo he swan towards her and noticed that her feet were tangled in the sea weed.

He had no time to lose. She was already unconscious and needed oxygen badly.

"_Hold on Sakuno-chan! Hold on!"_ his thoughts urged her to stay alive as he tore at the weeds that held her captive.

Fuji swam to the surface with his kouhai in his arms and gently lay her down on the shore.

"Sakuno-chan!" Karumi raced to her unconscious friend. "Don't die Sakuno-chan! Please, don't die!"

"Step back, Karumi-san." A dripping wet Fuji Syuusuke took hold of her eyes as she heeded his command. She watched as he knelt down beside the listless girl and bent over, his face inching nearer and nearer to hers.

Not knowing if it were jealousy taking over her, Karumi couldn't stop herself from putting a hand over her sempai's shoulder and stopping him.

"Stop sempai….don't…." her voice quivered but it was already too late. She didn't know why, but it felt like a thousand knives were thrust into her heart as she witnessed before her very eyes the only boy who had ever stolen her heart share the kiss of life with her bestfriend.

"Nothing's happening," murmered Fuji as he pulled away. "Karumi-san call an ambulance. I'll try my best to get the water out of her."

"Hai." With a nod, Karumi rushed to the house. Inwardly, she thanked that she wouldn't have to see Fuji doing CPR on Sakuno-chan again. She would die if she ever saw that again. She couldn't understand why, but she would rather have her very own bestfriend die than have her saved by Fuji-sempai.

It hurt so much that tears threatened to wet her blouse as she called the ambulance.

"Moshimoshi? Onegai, get an ambulance here! Hayaku!"

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"Ugh, where am I?" groaned Ryoma. Moving around, he found out that he was on top of a bed, his bed, and in his room.

" Ahhh…..so you're finally up…" greeted an old woman.

"Who are you old hag?"

"Stop messing around Echizen!" she yelled furiously, whacking the boy's head hard. "You should be glad that you were saved, you knuckle brain!"

Ryoma winced at the sharp pain at the back of his head. Boy, for an old woman, she sure could still pack a punch when she was mad.

"Gomen. Mada mada dane, Ryuuzaki-sensei, demo, doesn't that look….um….weird on you?" the tennis prince answered coldly, cocking at his sensei clad in a white sun dress.

Whack!!

Now there were two sharp pains at the back of his head.

" You never change, do you Echizen? Serves you right if you were ambushed by your own fan girls. Cocky brat," grumbled the pissed brunette coach as she walked out the door. "By the way, don't forget to thank Momoshiro for saving you ass."

Sheesh. Groggily getting out of bed, Ryoma walked out to Momo-sempai's room and banged at the door, after which he heard shouts from the inside.

"Where's my favorite shirt, baka?"

"I don't know mamushi! Don't blame me for losing your shirt!"

"I said where is it Momoshiro no baka!"

"Nani? I said I had nothing to do with your shirt, stupid mamushi!"

"You're the only one in here!"

"So what?! Meaning I took your shirt which you placed in the cabinet, locked it the put in a locked room and double-checked to make sure it stayed there? Nice work Mamushi no baka!"

"Yes of course, who else would I blame? I can't blame myself!"

"Yourself, baka!"

"What did you― why you!"

Smirking Ryoma eased away from the door. Tsk, tsk, tsk. One thing that he had learned in middle school was to never, at all costs, get between his sempais when they were busy fighting.

Cheh. Ryoma could never understand why buchou put those two in the same room.

Maybe it was because it was nicer that way? Tezuka was never known to be the nostalgic type.

Walking away the handsome prince of tennis went in search of his ex-coach. He stopped at the door next to his room and was ready to knock when he noticed that it was slightly ajar.

Curiously, he peeked in and watched his sensei busy talking on the phone…..no,_shouting_ on the phone.

"What did you say?!!! Sakuno-chan is in the hospital?" she screeched loudly.

Ryoma's eyes widened when he heard what she had shouted out.

That was right. Before he was ganged up by his delirious fan girls, he had seen Ryuuzaki Sakuno diving into the water. Before he had realized that she had been underwater for some time and decided to rescue her; his fan girls had already pounced on him and left him defenseless.

Now Ryuuzaki was in the hospital and it was all thanks to them. He had to go and check on her.

"Room number….alright then, thank you." With that, his sensei snapped her phone back into place and went out the door.

In her hurry to get to the hospital without any suspicion from the regulars, she wasn't able to notice two golden feline eyes following her every movement from the shadows of the hospital corridors as she made her way to her only grandchild.

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Fuji could remember it all clearly.

The rays of the setting sun, his kouhai's half-dead state, him trying his all to breathe life back into her, Karumi-san fervently calling out for Kami-sama's help as she called the ambulance.

Never in his life had he been so scared.

The fear of Sakuno-chan dying pounded in his chest everytime he had pulled back to see whether the CPR was successful or not.

It made him tremble, it made him weak and vulnerable.

The possibility of losing his best friend made his masked façade crumble down, showing the real Fuji Syuusuke inside.

Behind the sadistic cover which he had learned to love was an immensely kind and caring person who didn't mind if he was hurting himself was long as the ones he loved were safe and happy.

He was always like that.

It was the real reason why he would hardly play with his all on the courts. He believed that if he did, it would cause his outoto to be more hurt than he already was, and Fuji couldn't stand having to see his brother in pain.

Yuuta was always pained when he was being compared to his genius brother.

It made him sad, angry, and tormented when people only saw him as a relation of the great Tennis Tensai.

The close bond between two brothers was instantly strained and almost completely severed.

Now, Fuji didn't like that, he didn't like it at all.

He loved his younger brother dearly, but then….he also love tennis.

He couldn't stop playing tennis, even if it were for the sake of his brother. He was born for the sport.

Besides, he had friends who were counting on him. Quitting on them was never going to be an option.

His outoto had to learn to bypass silly jealousies, and even though it would be excruciating, Fuji couldn't protect Yuuta from that kind of experience. He had to learn it on his own.

Maybe though, if it would help in easing his pain, then Fuji wouldn't show his true strength.

It was like that for the two Fujis and it took them a long time to come to a real understanding.

Even so, their experience had left a huge emotional scar on both of them which even until now hadn't fully healed yet.

Fuji had always considered that to be the worst part of his life, but now, oh now, it was surpassed by the thought of Sakuno-chan lying dead.

In fact it was double the hurt that he had gone through; seeing her in such a state.

How the handsome brunette wished that the accident had never happened, or that it had happened to him instead of her.

Putting a chair next to the sleeping patient's bed, he sat down and laid his head next to hers, listening to her breathe as she mumbled something in her slumber.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Fuji heard knocks on the door.

"Hai, come in…." he answered, getting up from his position.

"Sakuno-chan! My baby mago-chan!" a very familiar voice to Fuji called out as that person entered the room. Cerulean eyes met brown as he stared at the face of his ex-coach.

"Fuji!"

"Sumire-chan!"

The two cried out in unison.

"Don't call me Sumire-chan!"

"Gomen nasai, Sumire-chan."

"I said ― ugh, never mind. What are you doing here Fuji Syuusuke?" the old woman demanded fiercely, her eyes boring into her former tennis player in such a way that could intimidate anybody. Oh, but Fuji just wasn't anybody.

He just smiled at her with an intensity equivalent to that of the stare.

"What did you do to my granddaughter?"

"I saved Sakuno-chan's life, Ryuuzaki-sensei," he answered calmly, before explaining everything that he knew happened.

"Sou desu ka?"

"Hai."

"I see."

Sitting down, Ryuuzaki Sumire wanted to hear more.

"Demo, how did Karumi-san know that she was underwater? And where the hell is that manager?"

She was handed a pink bracelet in response.

"What is this? Matte, I think I've seen this somewhere before. Yes, I have! This was the gift Tomoka-chan gave to Sakuno-chan, only that it lacks the silver star charm…..Ah….now I see. While she was swimming, the charm must have fallen," she hit realization. "And knowing my granddaughter she would have dived in after it. Now I understand Fu―"

Ringing across the room cut Ryuuzaki-sensei off. Picking up the phone, she asked to be excused for a moment.

Fuji watched her in silence as leaned back on his chair.

"_Sensei is definitely protective of her mago-chan," _he mused.

"What? No, Sakuno-chan cannot attend it!" he heard her shouting over the phone.

He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help but listen.

His ex-coah seemed to forget that she was in a hospital and not in the Alps where people shout out 'Yoodle-lay,Yoodle-lay, hee-ho' and caused avalanches.

"She still has a concert to do! Alright, alright. I'll go in place of her." Putting her cellphone down, she turned to Fuji. "Fuji, I know this may be too much to ask of you, but could you please watch over Sakuno-chan for me? I have to go to her father and settle some things with him."

"Hai, Sumire-chan!" the tensia answered, his cerulean orbs sparkling in delight. "I will take care of Nadeshiko Maaya well."

"Huh? How did you know?" a surprised Ryuuzaki-sensei asked, jaws dropped.

Fuji chuckled at her expression. He really did love being a sadist.

" I had my suspicions. When I saved Sakuno-chan from drowning, Karumi was calling out both the names Maaya and Sakuno, which of course, confirmed my assumptions."

"That Karumi! Anyway, I need to rush. Ja ne…." she answered, snatching up her bag. Pausing at the door she added, "By the way, this'll be our little secret only. I don't think Sakuno-chan would want fans hunting her down everyday."

With that Ryuuzaki-sensei walked out, leaving her sleeping granddaughter in the hands of the ever smiling tensai.

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**Japanese Terms**

Nan desu ka – what is it?

San –this suffix is used when the person is not that close to you, equivalent to Ms. Or Mr.

Chan – used when you have a close relationship with that person. Used for female friends, young siblings/children, pets; sort of a cutsie way of calling people.

Kun – used by females to call a male close friend.

Tensai –genius

Kouhai- junior

Moshimoshi – greeting one uses when answering or calling on the phone.

Onegai- please

Gomen /Gomen nasai – I'm sorry, I apologize

Mada mada dane – you still have lot's to learn/ not quite there yet

Baka – idiot

Mamushi – viper

Outoto – younger brother

Mago-chan – granddaughter

Sensei – teacher

Ja ne – see you later

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**A/N: **Hurrah! I'm finally done typing Chapter 3! I'm so sorry that it took me that long to finish…the past days were just a little bit too hectic for me.

We had our third quarter exams, and we had to do a bunch of projects, then came our everyday quizzes which I has to study for….ahhhh…life can be so irritating some times.

Well anyway, sorry for babbling! : )

So what do you think about this chap? Was it okay?

I really don't understand what's wrong with this fic. Does it really suck that bad? Why doesn't anyone review?

Well, anyhow, pls. review after you read, because it is really depressing to not know whether your readers despise your work or not. Please…review.

Chapter four coming up!


	4. An Arranged Marriage

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of tennis or any of its characters, but I do love using them like mindless puppets on strings! Beware, the puppet master is here! (I am such an evil disoriented person, am I not?)

**A/N:** Ohayou de gozaimashita minna-san! Happy valentines day!

To kick it off, I typed this in for all of you, though it may not be that lovey-dovey as expected (of course it's valentines, and though it is, the following chapter may not be suited for the celebration) I hope you like it.

This is my valentine's gift for all of you!

Read, enjoy, and review please. Your comments will serve as my valentines gift and I swear I'll treasure it for all time. ; )

**Chapter Four**

**The Hidden Secret**

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Karumi sighed in frustration.

She had just explained to Echizen Ryoma what had happened to her best friend and client yesterday, yet the boy still kept his calm and cool nature intact.

Didn't he care if his friend almost died?

His only reaction was a 'hnn' and a question asking whether he knew her in any way at all.

Stupid brat.

She didn't actually enjoy speaking in conversations wherein she would have to do all the talking while being given monosyllabic answers and phrases. But she had seen him in the hospital and assumed he had already known what had happened.

So she decided to ask him if he was there to see Sakuno-chan and found out that he didn't know a thing except that he had seen Ryuuzaki in trouble and couldn't do anything because of a sudden ambush by his fangirls.

She told him how his friend was in danger, yet he was still as indifferent as ever.

What Karumi didn't know was that an emotional battle was going on inside him.

It just didn't show on the outside.

"Dare des ka?" Ryoma asked again, glaring at her from underneath his Fila cap.

Okay.

Now Karumi was officially pissed off.

"My name is Sakamoto Karumi. We met once remember? Socially challenged idiot. I really wonder what Sakuno-chan saw in you. I'm glad that you two never got together," she was practically blazing right now. "How can you even say that you tried to save her when all I saw you doing yesterday was stare at the wide open sea?"

"Cheh. I don't even remember seeing you. So stop shouting or you'll blow my cover."

"Hmph. Urusai. Baka. I remember everything clearly. Fuji-sempai was asking me if I had seen you, then I shouted out _'there!'_. Funny though , after that a hoard of women from behind came rushing by. They nearly trampled me. It was then that I lost sight of you. They were screaming something-sama, I love you, etc." retorted Karumi angrily, raising her head in indignation.

She sure was wasting her time in talking to him.

There was still a lot of she had to arrange. As the great Maaya Nadeshiko's manager, she had to be organized.

"Sou ka? So it was him." muttered Ryoma, ignoring Karumi's blabber.

Suddenly the door to Sakuno's room opened and Ryoma scampered away to hide with the girl at his heels.

Peeping from a corner, he saw Ryuuzaki-sensei walk out shouting something he couldn't quite understand.

Karumi saw that she was quite a distance from the room and decided to leave the cocky tennis prince behind to talk to the old lady.

Once she had returned, she found that he had already entered the room.

Huffing, she noticed that her phone was vibrating. Hearing loud voices coming from Sakuno-chan's room, she chose to block the call and listen.

'_Hmm….it seems that Fuji-sempai and Echizen are arguing about something.' _

Sakuno-chan to be more precise.

Grrr….with the way her sempai was talking, he sounded more like a protective lover than a sempai to her.

She had to do something about that.

Crying wouldn't help, she knew that much. She had to formulate a plan.

Her mind turned to the handsome and hot feline-eyed tennis player who pissed her off earlier and in a flash, a light bulb went up in her head.

Didn't Sakuno-chan always want to be with Echizen Ryoma?

Karumi had always promised to help her friend's love-life.

Well, well,well, now was the best time to fulfill that promise.

Wasn't she a genius? It was like shooting two birds with one stone!

She would be making her friend happy and get rid of the competition at the same time. Fuji-sempai would be all hers while Sakuno would have her Ryoma-kun. Everyone would get their happily-ever-afters.

"Ahh Karumi, you are simply too smart for your own good!" she giggled to herself, moving away from the door with her phone in hand. She flipped open the mobile phone and walked away with a smile.

"Moshimoshi? Is this Matsunaga-san?

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Once that he had seen that his sensei had finally gone away, Ryoma found the perfect opportunity and entered the room in silence.

Inside, he saw the girl of his dreams lying in bed, still as beautiful as ever.

Her gorgeous long auburn hair was tousled underneath her body, and contrasted with her soft porcelain-white complexion; her cheeks were tainted with pink even in her sleep, and her lips were blood-red and full.

Ryoma smiled at the memory of her voice.

She used to call him Ryoma-kun, which he preffered over the tedious ear-bursting 'Ryoma-sama's of his annoying fangirls.

His smile though, faded into a bitter scowl as soon as he noticed the person sitting not far from his beloved.

"Saa, quite interesting. So it seems now Echizen has taken a liking to Sa-chan."

"Fuji-sempai."

"Echizen."

Silence enveloped the room as Ryoma neared the sleeping woman, observing her features as the hard cerulean glare of his sempai bored at his back. Even if he was away from the eyes of Fuji he could feel his stare.

"Why now? Don't you think you've her hurt her enough already?" spat out Fuji, breaking the silence. His beautiful blue orbs were clearly staring from the darkness of the corner, indicating how serious he was.

"Hnn. Stop playing games with me Fuji-sempai. I know you love to see others suffer, and I know that you want to see me miserable."

"I am serious Echizen, serious about making you suffer for all the things that you've done."

"What is wrong in visiting Ryuuzaki, sempai?"he answered coolly.

Fuji felt his blood boiling in rage and he could no longer keep his composure.

"What's wrong? You're asking me what's wrong?! You made her suffer Echizen, badly. You broke her heart! After all that she's done;suppporting you in all of your matches, making you bentos and giving you all of her love, all that you did in return was reject that love she gave you!" roared the brunette. "All you ever cared about was tennis and yourself. You left Sakuno-chan for America. You left her with a shattered heart. And now after four years you come back saying that you want to be a part of her life again? That is so cold and heartless of you, but then again, you were always like that, weren't you Echizen?"

Stunned,Ryoma was speechless. Never had he seen his sempai this riled-up before.

Fuji-sempai wasn't the type of person to shout.

He was right too.

Ryoma had done something absolutely wrong.

He should've told Sakuno that he liked her too while he had the chance.

But he was still young then and didn't know how to deal with a newfound feeling such as attraction, much less love.

So he turned once again to tennis for shelter and rejected her affections.

But now, now it was different.

He wanted to set things right again.

He was now ready to be a part of her, ready to take her in as a part of her life.

" I just came to visit sempai. I want to set things right again," murmured the young dark-haired lad, guilt tinging his voice.

Fuji looked into his eyes and saw that he was sincere and ready to make amends for the past.

But asking forgiveness wasn't enough. It never was.

"I am afraid that isn't enough yet, Echizen. It won't change anything. Just stay away from Sakuno-chan for awhile. Just stay away and give her time."

With that, Ryoma got up, ready to leave the room.

"I'm not going to give up Fuji-sempai," he said, before shutting the door behind him.

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"Huh? Where am I?" Sakuno asked herself.

It was cold and she was threading around. She was underwater, in the sea.

The salt stung her eyes and she could hardly breathe.

Water was all around her, choking her, killing her.

She had to get out of the water fast. She didn't want to die.

She was too young to die.

Sakuno tried to swim upwards but something stopped her from moving her foot. It was seaweed tangling around her leg that pulled her back from salvation.

All her best was done to cut them away, but it still wouldn't come off.

She tried a second time but it was too late.

She couldn't hold out any longer.

Slowly water began filling her lungs.

Memories of those she loved filled her mind. Her parents, obaasan, Karumi-chan, Tomo-chan, the regulars, Ryoma-kun and Fuji-sempai.

She would be leaving them all soon, and she didn't even get a chance to say how much they all meant to her.

"I'm so so…"Sakuno snapped open her eyes.

She was sweating and trembling all over. The dream seemed so real.

Looking around in the darkness, Sakuno noticed she wasn't in her room.

'_Where am I? Maybe the dream wasn't a dream after all.' _ she thought. _'Wait….yes…that's right. It isn't a dream."_

'_It actually did happen to me.'_

Sakuno was swimming around after Karumi left when all of the sudden, the heart-shaped charm of the bracelet Tomoka-chan gave her fell off. She didn't want to lose it.

It was something her bestfriend gave her and she treasured it with all her heart.

So without a second thought she dived in after it.

She was searching the sea bed for a considerable time and decided to come up for air.

That was when she noticed the seaweeds.

She must've passed out, because everything went black after that.

Now the big question was…

'_Who saved me?'_

"Hmmmm….."

A yelp of surprise escaped her lips.

'_Who was that? Is it a ghost?'_

'_Don't be ridiculous Ryuuzaki Sakuno. Ghosts don't exist! You don't believe in them,'_ the auburn-haired girl chided herself.

Contented that the strange sigh didn't let itself be heard again, she rested her head on the pillow. Then…

"Wha-wwwhha-what was that?"

Something moved at the side of the bed.

This place was spooking her out. It really was.

She was so frightened that she had to muster all the courage to lift her head off the covers.

"Sakuno-chan….." the voice mumbled.

Her eyes trailed around the entire room until she could find out who or what said that. Okay, okay, it was getting scarier, but she had to do it. She really hoped it wasn't a ghost.

There in the corner! That's where the voice came from!

'_Oh God….please….'_

Finally, she found the culprit.

'_Thank goodness. It's only Fuji-sempai….'_ she sighed in relief._ 'Phew that was close… I almost really thought it was a ghost.'_

Sakuno was about to get up when she noticed red beady eyes looking at her from the blanket with four scurrying feet.

"Eeeeeeeek!!!" she screamed.

Light's immediately filled the room and a worried-looking Fuji-sempai rushed to her side.

"Sakuno-chan! What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"Hai…" she answered, her breathing began to calm down a little. " I'm fine now sempai. I was just frightetened by a mouse, that's all. Gomen ne, sempa ―" arms around her neck cut her off.

A little shocked by the sudden display of affection, she hugged back, blushing at the feel of her sempai's sinewy muscles.

"Fuji-sempai" she muttered.

"Yatta. Kitto yatta. I'm so glad that you're safe, Sakuno-chan."

Sakuno felt bad. She had caused so much trouble for everyone. She made them all worry about her safety and made them all scared.

"Gomen nasai, Fuji-sempai!" she blurted out in guilt.

"I'm so sorry for causing you trouble. I shouldn't have dived into the water, and I take full responsibility for everything…I've given nothing but pain and ―" cried out the doe eyed beauty as she pulled away from her sempai's strong arms, hidden by the long-sleeved coat he had on.

She felt comfortable and safe in the embrace of the tensai, but somehow guilt and her sense of responsibility overpowered her.

"Shhh, it wasn't your fault Sakuno-chan." He answered with a smile, his eyes shining with warmth. Patting her head like a little dog, he chuckled at the childish retorts.

"Kya, sempai! I'm not a little child anymore!"

Laughing out loud, she returned the favor and patted his light brown head to be rewarded with a surprised look from him. It was fleeting but it was worth it.

"So you know how to play the game too, ne, my dear kouhai? Well, now, don't you think you need to get back to sleep? You need to get all the rest that you can. Maaya-chan needs to perform the day after tomorrow, doesn't she?"

"Wha —?" "Shhhh. You don't need to explain anything. Now go to sleep," he prodded gently.

Sakuno closed her eyes knowing that right next to her was her sempai who would always keep her safe.

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The walls were always grey and drab. They always were to her.

Sumire could never understand why large corporations always had to be so -, so dead.

Her son ought to have picked livelier colors for his buildings, after all his company as called Shiawase No Niji. (A/N: meaning, Rainbow of Happiness. It's the title of the opening song of Gakuen no Alice/Alice Academy. I decided to use it though. : P )

But then again,she didn't have any business with how her son managed his company.

It was his life.

Pressing the button of the elevator, the older Ryuuzaki waited patiently to be brought to the fifty-sixth floor, the highest floor of the sky rise building.

The buzzing of the elevator signaled the stop and she walked out to be greeted by a polite petite woman.

"Ohayou, Sumire-san! Ryuuzaki-san is waiting for you inside."

"Arigatou, Yumato-san."

The secretary then opened the door for the whitish-brown-haired woman.

"Ohayou, Okaasan! I'm glad you could make it!" a cheery spectacled green-eyed brunette walked up to her and embraced her warmly.

Standing next to him was a beautiful auburn-headed woman in her late thirties, her eyes shining with mirth at the sight of the older woman.

"Ohayou, Okaasan!" "Ohayou to you too, Sakura-san!"

After the warm exchange of greetings and genki desu ka's, the threesome sat down to talk about important matters.

At the end of their little 'conference', a frown was set on the eldest Ryuuzaki's face.

"Do you expect your daughter to be happy with this?"

"Mother, it can no longer be changed. It's eighteen years too late. Before she was born, the deal was made. Gomennasai, demo, it cannot be turned around any know that it can't be. I already told you about it when Sakuno was born." cringed Shino Ryuuzaki (A/N: Okay, I suck at making names.), wiping his spectacles.

It was true. Nothing could be done anymore.

The company was the largest in Japan and its name would be at stake if Sakuno would reject it.

"She will be happy Sumire-san. I'm sure she will." Sakura reassured with a smile, squeezing her husband's hand lovingly.

"I hope you're right Sakura-san, I hope you're right. Now I have to tell your daughter the big news."

"No, no! Not yet, Okaasan! I don't think she's ready to hear this yet. Besides, we still have to make the preparations ready."

"Then why did you want her to be here in the first place? Weren't you supposed to tell her about this? I came here in place of her you know and I had to leave my team reunion because of that!"

The couple looked at each other and smiled at Ryuuzaki Sumire sheepishly.

"Well, we missed her."

"Then what did you need me for?!"

"To make the preparations with us! You're now the official wedding planner!"

Sumire scowled at the thought of it all, but what the heck, it was her granddaughter's wedding.

She couldn't refuse.

Her son was really wonderful.

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Japanese Terms

Dare desu ka – who are you?

Urusai – shut up

Sou ka – is that so?

Sensei – teacher

Hai – yes

Yatta – an expression of relief. Could mean that's nice to hear, I'm glad or hurrah

depending on the situation.

Kitto – definitely

Gomennasai – I'm sorry

Shiawase – rainbow

Niji – happy, happiness

Ohayou – goodmorning

Arigatou – thank you

Okaasan –mother

Genki-desu ka – how are you

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**A/N:** Happy valentines everyone! Hope you liked chapter 4! Thank you for all the hits everyone, and for all the reviews; even if I got only three for chapter 3, I still love them!

Honto ni Arigatou, minna-san! Especially to Silverdoe who always reviews! : )

I really appreciate them by the way!

And to your question, Silverdoe, opo Pilipino po ako. Salamat ha sa lahat ng reviews na ibinibigay mo.

By the way, you know how to speak Filipino..that's great to know....Have you been to the Philippines before?

Hehehe ; )

Wel, anyway, again, I hope you enjoyed chapter 4! Please don't forget to review everyone!

If you think that the story sucks and it's too crappy, well you can put it in your reviews too, I wont mind.

But don't worry. The story is going to get interesting. Promise.

So, chapter 5 is coming up. What could be in store for them all? Watch out Ryoma, Sakuno and Fuji. Love is going to twist your world.

Ja ne. Till next time.


	5. The Carnival

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: The Puppetmaster definitely does not own P.O.T. or any of its characters, but she definitely loves to make them dance to her music in her fics. Prince of Tennis, beware!

Chapter 5

At the Carnival

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"Sakuno-chan, I'm so glad to see you!"

First thing Sakuno knew, she was walking into her Obaasan's hotel room with her things and Fuji-sempai, next thing was she found herself being glomped from behind, derived of holy life-giving oxygen.

"Eiji-sempai,- I - can't - breathe - "

"Oh. Hehehehe….Nya, I'm so sorry Sakuno-chan! I guess I was a little bit too excited." apologized a kitty-faced Eiji giving his ever famous cat smile.

"Eiji, you almost strangled our little kouhai over here." Fuji chided the acrobatic tennis player who was jumping up and down happily on the bed next to the one Sakuno-chan was sitting on.

Toing. Toing. Toing. Toing.

The bed even made nice springy noises as he went up and came down over and over again.

Fuji's smile widened. His day just got brighter.

Here he was, sending Sakuno-chan to her Obaasan's hotel room where she would be staying so he could have a better look-out on her and almost instantly he gets a coincidental chance to have some fun….the sadistic way.

Life can be so beautiful sometimes.

"Kikumaru," he began with a sadistic tone in his voice. "Don't you think that our buchou would be a little upset?"

"Hoi, Hoi, what are you talking about Fujiko?" Eiji innocently stared at the grinning tensai as he continued bouncing merrily on the bed.

Sakuno who watched the two merely shook her head.

Poor, poor, Eiji-sempai. When would he ever learn?

"Ne, you're jumping up and down Tezuka's bed."

"NANI?!?!"

At exactly the same moment, Tezuka entered the room. Eiji was still on top of the bed with his jaws dropping down.

"Ryuuzaki, you've ― arrived."

Turning away from the granddaughter of his sensei, Tezuka's eyes rested on his bed filled with flying feathers, crumpled sheets, overturned pillows and the offender caught red-handed on top of the whole mess.

Oh-oh.

Eiji was going to be in so much trouble now.

"Eiji Kikumaru….."

"H-h-hai, Buchou?"

Fuji was so enjoying this. His smile must have reached his ears by now.

Hell hath no wrath than Tezuka angered. That is a basic fact of life.

"Go to Inui now…."

The tennis captain's voice was cool and calm, but they all knew better. Truth was, he was probably burning inside.

"And ask two pitchers of his latest Aozu. Drink it. Do it. Now."

"Buchou! Demo―"

"Three pitchers."

"Onegai, buchou! I would rather run a hundred laps than drink Inui Juice!" pleaded Eiji, kneeling in front of the poker-faced tennis captain.

"I said do it, before I'll change my mind and make you run laps around the whole of Japan!"

With that the once joyful Eiji left the room like he had a death sentence on him. Seeing him leave, Tezuka sighed heavily. He was getting rather tired of all this.

"Ryuuzaki," he addressed the girl seated on the bench in front of him. "Don't let Eiji do that again. Understood?"

Sakuno gulped.

"Hai, Tezuka-sempai."

She was grateful that the room was now drowning in silence as she sorted out her things with Fuji-sempai's assistance as Tezuka-sempai tidied up his bed.

Fuji just went on to help her without a sound. He knew something was on Tezuka's mind and that he woukd be asking a question later on.

Just as Sakuno kept away the last of her clothes, the stoic ex-captain of the Seigaku tennis team decided to shatter the silence and disclose his thoughts earlier that period.

"Ryuuzaki," his eagle-like eyes pierced from beneath his glasses. "Would you like to come with the regulars on a carnival trip? There's a carnival today, sponsored by Maaya Nadeshiko and Sensei got ten tickets. The problem is she isn't here, so there's one extra."

Sakuno looked up to Fuji for some guidance.

This was really troublesome. She was supposed to rest, but then, how could she turn down her sempai's offer?

Unfortunately, Fuji wasn't really listening that well, so she had to make her own choice.

"Hai, of course! Arigatou ne, sempai."

"Yosh."

Tapping her shoulder, Fuji faced his little kouhai and told her that she was supposed to rest. He was really listening to them after all, he just pretended not to.

He was going to force her not to accept the offer, but then he saw that gleam of determination in her eyes. She was determined not to let her friends down.

He smiled, looking at her. Sakuno-chan really had grown up.

Before, when the two began their friendship, he always saw her as a quiet, shy and timid little girl. She was always like that, even in highshchool where so many suiters would come her way, he recalled. Now, she was so confident of herself. How could he refuse her?

"Alright. Then, ler's all go."

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Ryoma lowered the bill of his cap to hide his blush.

Stupid sempai-tachi. They always had to butt in his love life, or rather, the lack of thereof.

"Hey, Echizen," Momo-sempai called out. " Your little girlfriend needs a partner in the haunted house."

"That's right, Ochibi!" Eiji backed up his spiky-haired teammate. "You don't want such a delicate girl like her to be left all alone! Everyone's been paired off already, so only you can do it."

Ryoma glared at the laughing duo who were exchanging hi-fives in front of him.

Knodding his head to answer, he felt a cold presence from behind.

"I'll be watching you, Echizen." hissed Fuji in a low voice before putting back on a smile so that the rest of the regulars wouldnt get suspicious.

"Saa, take care of my kouhai. Make sure she doesn't cry."

He watched the smiling brunette walk away from him and approach the tomato-red Sakuno-chan to tell her sempai really didn't give up, and neither was he. He was going to make things right again.

"Alright then Minna-san," Tezuka's booming voice commanded. "Don't let your guard down."

Entering in pairs, the group was then swallowed in by darkness of the carnival haunted house tent with Ryoma and Sakuno in the lead.

The two walked in silence as they passed ghouls, ghosts, witches, monsters and all sorts of so-called supernatural beings.

Though his facial expressions didn't quite show it, Ryoma was rather surprised.

He was expecting her to scream, tremble and faint, but it turned out that Kaidoh, Momo and Eiji were the ones screaming in terror instead her. That was something he had thought to be impossible.

Sakuno really had changed.

Of course she still blushed like a tomato and was timid, but now there was an air of courage and confidence about her.

Hmmmmm…….that wasn't the only change in her.

Another change was that the little auburn-headed girl in pigtails turned into a gorgeous butterfly of a woman.

There was no doubt about it.

Even in the darkness of the tent and even in the noise of her sempai-tachi's screeches her beauty was obvious.

Ryoma felt so mesmerized that he didn't notice that he didn't notice that he and the young woman were the last ones left behind.

"Anou, Ryoma-kun, ah no…Ryoma-san, ummmmm……everyone's outside now." she said, tapping his shoulder, breaking the spell that he was in.

"Ryuuzaki I just want to say―" Ryoma blinked. Where was she now?

His feline-eyes wandered top the exit and as sure as ever, there she was, talking with her sempais.

"Thank you." he walked out of the tent, still with that mesmerized look in her eyes.

He was falling deeper, deeper and he knew it.

What her and the other's didn't know that a blue-haired woman had seen everything in the shadows and it wasn't the feeling quite happy with the way things were working out.

"I was sure that she'd fling herself into his arms. Well no worries. There 's always second time. Besides, after tomorrow, there'll be more than enough time for….let's say….chemical reaction."

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"I….I don't understand this. What is this feeling?" a certain blue-eyed person questioned, putting his hand towards the left part of his chest as the rustling of the leaves in the wind echoed through his mind.

He was sitting under the sakura tree, thinking of this unknown emotion inside of him.

Fuji was alone, he had asked to be excused, to be far from his teammates, to be far from the carnival's noise, to put his whole mind into this newfound feeling.

He couldn't understand why, when Ryoma had been called out as Sakuno-chan's partner, he suddenly felt a pang in his heart, or why, when he saw them walking side by side together, he felt as if he had been stabbed in the chest.

It was painful, and it was the kind of pain that he wasn't accustomed to.

Besides he was a sadist.

Pain was meant to be inflicted on others, not on himself.

Maybe if his Neesan were here he could ask her about this, but it seemed that Yumiko was busy on her fifth wedding anniversary trip with her husband and he didn't want to interrupt their special time together just so that he could talk to her about what he felt when he saw his former teammate and kouhai walking along side each other in a haunted house.

That would be too rude of him.

His sister and brother-in-law were a busy couple, and they hardly had enough time for each other with all the work and two kids to tend trips were the only time they had alone with one another to relax.

He understood that perfectly. He had to figure out this mystery by himself.

Maybe….maybe the reason why he was feeling this way was because he was being protective of his kouhai and best friend it was because he didn't want to see her hurt again.

Sakuno-chan was his friend, his bestfriend.

Out of all of Fuji's friends and buddies, she was the only exception to his sadistic ways and his victims and his list of victims.

We all know that Fuji loves playing pranks on anyone, which included his family, friends and teammates, but with Sakuno-chan it was different.

He wouldn't dare harm a strand on the girl's head even if it cost him his life.

Everyone, including him couldn't understand why.

All he knew was that he didn't want to hurt her.

Sakuno-chan understood him more than anyone else possibly could and it made him happy.

Many of those around him wanted to be his friend simply because they wanted to be known as a friend of the Tennis Tensai and heir to his father's company, but she wasn't like those kinds of people.

She cared for him. She knew when he was sad, even if he would hide the sorrow under a would comfort him when he needed it. Sometimes, she would simply stay there with him, showing that she would be there when he needed her.

Her smile was something he loves seeing. He was always happy when she would smile. He never wanted her to cry and he didn't want Echizen hurting her again,

Yes, yes, yes, the feeling that he felt must've been brotherly protectiveness,

He told himself that that must have been the answer that he was looking for. But deep inside, a voice as soft as the wind blowing pink petals all around him told him that there was something more to it.

That it was totally different from anything that he had ever felt before. It kept on whispering in his mind but he ignored it.

Taking a deep breath, Fuji closed his eyes and put all his thoughts to a rest.

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Ryuuzaki Sumire swore that her head would blow.

Arranging weddings were harder than she thought, especially with a son who wanted his daughter's wedding to be perfect.

"Excuse me, Ryuuzaki-san, here are the catalogues."

The saleswoman handed her a book filled with different designs of wedding gowns.

Skimming through the book, she was glad that she had a comfortable chair to sit on.

She had gone to hundreds of wedding boutiques already and her feet were killing her.

"I should've taken up my stupid son's offer to use the Porsche in this stupid kind of wedding arrangement." She muttered under her breath.

Pride can be such an annoying thing sometimes.

Ryuuzaki-sensei went on fanning the pages until a particular wedding gown came into mind.

It was exquisite, a kimono -like gown whose collar was off shoulder and showed the cleavage well. It had a hem with slits which showed off the models milky legs.

Traditional yet modern.

The fierce ex-tennis coach was sure her granddaughter would love it. Heck, she also did; which was definitely weird since dresses like those were never her type.

Sakuno liking the dress wasn't a problem. She liked anything that had a little fashion sense.

The only thing that was worrying her right now was the happiness of her granddaughter.

How could Sakuno be possibly happy in an arranged marraige where she didn't even know who was her husband to be?

God knows, Sumire didnt even have a clue to who the guy was!

Her son made it a point not to tell anyone about the future-husband's identity.

She didnt approve of her only grandchild having a prearranged marraige, but what could she do?

The arrangement was already done before the girl was even born and just as Shino said, it would bring shame on their family name if it were to be stopped.

She pitied Sakuno very much.

Her lovelife was already a mess and now.....well, now it was going to be a total disaster.

"Oh, Sa-chan. I just pray Kami-sama shall bring you happiness in this marraige." she murmured as she closed the catalogue.

"Have you found the gown you want maam?"

"Hai. I want this one. I'll have the measurements sent a little later."

After putting in the final details, the brown-haired woman walked out of the shop with one mission accomplished and several more to take into action.

_This is going to be such a loooonnnnggg, loooonnnngggg month._

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"Arigatou Ryoma-san." Sakuno gave a slight bow to the boy in front of her as she walked by his side with her sempai-tachi.

A surprised Ryoma gave her a skeptical look.

What was she thanking him for?

She was supposed to be still mad at him right, just like Fuji-sempai said in between words?

He got the notion that she was angry in the haunted house because of her silence.

Wasnt she supposed to be angry at him and then he'd try his best to ask her forgiveness?

Wasnt that how things were supposed to go?

He'd thought about it since his confrontation with Fuji-sempai, but then again, girls were always unpredictable. Maybe they would always be a mystery to him.

And what was with the san?

Before he could ask her about it, she had already run off somewhere.

Sigh. He would have to ask her about it later.

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"I wonder where Fuji-sempai could be?" wondered Sakuno as she searched for the brunette. "I really need to talk to him."

Fuji-sempai was her bestfriend, her brother-figure, her confidante and right now, she really needed someone to talk to. She was running to him, just like she did back in highschool and for exactly the same reason.

Echizen Ryoma.

_How can he do it? _

_How come it's so hard for me not to blush and stutter in front of him? So hard to be not embarrassed?_

But the hardest of them all was to try to forget the past and move on. Move on......maybe atleast as good aquaintances and not as cold and indifferent memoirs of the past.

That was all she ever wanted, nothing more, nothing less.

Sakuno no longer expected anything more from the tennis prince. She has learned that much from the past. From the anguish. From the shattered dreams of them ever being together.

Something in her died with his rejection, but it made her stronger both in mind and spirit.

It was like the death of the pheonix. The pheonix always had to die first before a new one could arise.

Sure, she still couldnt get rid of her old habits around him, but deep inside, she knew that she had changed. She knew that she was stronger than before and there was no doubt about it.

Nevertheless, even if she felt that way, she would still talk to her sempai.

She was also worried about him knowing that he was concerned about her emotional well-being.

Just before they all ahd entered the haunted house tent earlier, she was sure that she had seen a flicker of concern and hurt in his wonderfully captivating cerulean blue orbs and though it lasted only for a few seconds, Sakuno knew that he was still restless inside.

Others couldnt see it because Fuji-sempai was always hiding behind a mask but Sakuno could.

She had to talk with him.

Walking into the crowd of people hubbling along in the Maaya Nadeshiko preconcert Carnival, the girl wasn't worried about being mobbed by her loving fans. Her cascading auburn disguise as the Ryuuzaki Sakuno insured that she needn't worry about being torn into pieces by her fans.

What was making her worried right now was Fuji-sempai's whereabouts.

Weaving in and out of the spilling number of people moving all around her, Sakuno found it hard to spot him. She had to think hard.

"If I were Fuji-sempai, and I wanted some peace of mind, where would I go? Hmmmmm......"she thought out loud, putting her fingers to her chin.

Scouring the her memory for the ideal place, the answer flashed like a light bulb in her head.

If she were her sempai and she needed some peace of mind the only place that she would go to would be……under a tree…..a sakura tree and in that resort there was only one pink-blossomed tree around.

Sakuno skipped merrily off. The sakura tree was not far off. As she remembered, it was in the resort's quiet park, far from the noise and merriment in the carnival.

Just as she had expected, he was there, leaning on the trunk with his eyes closed.

He looked so peaceful that she didn't dare wake him up.

She sat down next to him quietly, enjoying the cool light breeze running through her hair and the silent company the slumbering brunette provided her. Peaceful times like these were often rare for her hectic star life and she missed them.

She missed her sempai's company, just like this.

They had drifted apart after he went to college and the only connection that they had with each other since then was through their infrequent e-mails and phone calls.

In fact, she wouldn't have had the chance to see him again if she hadn't gotten into her little "accident". That was the good side of her drowning episode.

Here they were now, spending time alone with each other, just like old times.

Yeah, just like old times.

A beautiful smile crept up her face as she reminisced about her life before she became a singer, before all the glamour and pretense of popularity.

"Ah…..hhhhmmmm, Sakuno-chan, I didn't notice you there earlier. Im sorry…"

Sakuno turned her head to find Fuji-sempai stretching his arms and standing up. A blush crept up her face because of the tone of her voice. It was so velvety and full of life. Of course, it always had been, so she shouldn't have blushed. She questioned why, but now was not the right time for that.

Before she could even respond to his statement, she saw him holding his open hand down to her.

"Where are we going Fuji-sempai?" quipped Sakuno as they walked hand in hand.

"Out shopping!" he answered with a grin.

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"Is that so Echizen-san? Oh well then, if you ever see him, please inform me. There is something important I want to say to him."

"Hnn."

After listening to what the cocky brat had to say, Karumi quickly strode away from the quirky tennis players lined up at the ferris wheel for a ride. Her eyes dodged around in search of blue-eyed brunette she had set her heart on since she met him.

"Where is he? Where is my love?" she rambled, a splash of pink blotting her cheeks.

Thoughts of her walking hand in hand, embracing, and kissing Fuji made her blush all the more.

With Sakuno about to be out of the way, Karumi could make Fuji-sempai all hers in no time.

Most people would have disapproved of her methods, but desperate times call for desperate measures, ne?

Besides, it would be all for the better.

Fuji's attachment to her client should be severed as soon as possible or else the wound on his heart would become deeper and even harder to heal. Sakuno didn't like him like he did her, or at least that was what Karumi thought.

Sakuno was still in love with Echizen. Karumi wanted Fuji-sempai the boy of her dreams, so she guessed it was alright to play Destiny with their love lives. The full operation she planned was officially going to begin tomorrow, but she wanted to have an early head start with Fuji-sempai.

Karumi searched around until she came to the front part of a jewelry stand and what she saw made her stop right in her tracks.

Right in front of her was a maroon colored Sakuno hand in hand with a smiling and chuckling tensai.

"Oh, Karumi-chan, what a pleasant surprise! How's everything going with the carnival?" asked Sakuno as she pulled away from Fuji to approach her manager.

Faking a grin, Karumi gave a positive answer.

"The carnival was a big hit! Psst, by the way……your fans were looking for you….Maaya-chan," she whispered into the star's ear, faking a laugh after she saw her bestfriend sweat drop.

"Karumi!"

"Daijoubo, Daijoubo! So what are you doing with Fuji-sempai?"

"Saa, I was planning to force her to accept the gift I'm going to buy." Fuji answered for her, twining his fingers with the auburn head next to him.

Sadly turning away from what she saw, Karumi let out a small ja ne and a short explanation about her being needed at the booths.

Walking a distance away from the stand, she watched as the two went and talked to the stall owner and watched them walk away still with intertwining hands. Dangling on Sakuno's neck was a shiny gold necklace.

Karumi couldn't help but feel jealous.

It was so unfair!

She was the one supposed to have a necklace from Fuji-sempai, not her. She was the one who loved him with all her heart damn it. Sakuno was only his friend.

"Well Karumi," her inner voice hummed. "You don't have to worry. After tomorrow everything will be alright."

Wiping away the pearl-like tears that streaked down her face, the blue-haired woman took out her phone.

"Moshimoshi. Toshigo-san? This is Sakomoto-san. The arrangements are ready for tomorrow. Yes, it's good. It will be announced. Hai. Ja."

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Japanese Terms

Buchou – captain

Onegai – please

Sempai – senior

Kouhai – junior

Arigatou ne – thank you

Yosh – good

Nani – what

Demo – but

Sempai-tachi – meaning sempais

Ochibi – Eiji's nickname for Echizen, meaning little child, or child or kid.

Minna-san – everyone.

Daijoubo – it's alright, it's fine

Moshimoshi – used as an opening greeting when on the phone. Equivalent to hello.

Hai – yes

Ja ne – goodbye/see you later

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A/N: Hi everyone! Chapter 5 is finally up and I'm nearly done with writing the fic in my notebook! Hurrah, hurrah! Kya, hoped you liked it, minna-san. It may not seem much, but hey, I wrote it with my heart, so be careful to not crush it by not reviewing.

Read and review, people, read and review! That is my constant reminder.

The reviews are what keeps this thing living. And I don't want to see it die. Do you? I see that only Silverdoe-chan and Rebecca-chan are the only ones who are interested in the life of this fic. Are the others out there aside from them? Maybe this might starve with only two reviews per chap.

Anyway, coming up next Chapter Six, The Concert! Don't miss it!

Note: I will definitely update when this thing gets at least 3 or more reviews which are not from the faithful duo Rebecca-chan and Silver-chan. If not, I'll have to consider it before I do.


	6. At the Concert

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: I definitely own Prince of Tennis or any of it's characters. Owning them is Konomi-sensei's job. Mine is manipulating them in this story.

Chapter 6

The Concert

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"Maaya-chan, are you done yet?"

"Ugh, I'm almost done with the clothes. There! All set! I still have to go and have my make-up done though," answered the singer from inside the dressing room.

Snorting, Karumi pouted, stomped her feet and then grabbed chair to sit on outside the dressing room door.

How long did she have to wait?

She had to have the contract signed now. Any second longer and the lavender-eyed woman would drop.

A second passed, another second, and another. By the time Sakuno fully emerged as the black haired singer that she had to be, a full five minutes had passed and Karumi's head was already spinning like crazy because of the anticipation.

"What took so long?"

"Dressing up of course. You seem uneasy today, Karumi-chan. Is anything the matter?"

"No, no, no, nothing's wrong really."

"Oh. Okay. So how do I look?" asked Sakuno as she stood still to let her manager to take a good look at her outfit. As the celebrity Nadeshiko Maaya she had to be a little bit more daring than her usually conservative self, so the eighteen year old singer put on a black trench coat over a short, petite, sparkly pink silken dress that clung around her slim and curvy waist while her feet were adorned by a pair of high-heeled black leather boots with silver designs right around the toes and the ankle. The long black tresses of her wig were simply left falling over her shoulders to cover up her darling auburn identity.

"You're looking great Maaya-chan! It's almost about time, but I was wondering ―"

"Maaya! Maaya! Maaya!" the chants of the crowd from their seats interrupted what the singer's manager was about to say. "Looks like I've been called."

"Chotto Matte! Maaya-chan!" Karumi hastily ran after Sakuno backstage while calling out her screen name. Her client spun around towards her direction with a questioning look on her face.

"Nani? Naze ka?"

Sakuno looked a lot more confused when out of nowhere, a rolled sheet of paper suddenly appeared in the blue-haired woman's hands.

"What's this? Cant it wait until after the concert?"

"Iie, it can't. It's really necessary for your career Maaya-chan. It won't take long to sign it anyway."

Sighing, Sakuno picked the pen from her manager's hands and scribbled her signature over her screen name. Handing the paper back, she proceeded to hurriedly walk behind the stage curtains where she could hear her name being chanted over and over again.

"Maaya, Maaya, Maaya!"

Striking up a pose, she waited for the sound director to give the cue.

A one, a two, a one, two, three go!

The curtains lifted and the hall rumbled in screams and applauses. Swaying in a short distance as she walked up stage, Ryuuzaki Sakuno faded and in her place came Nadeshiko Maaya.

All her worries and cares about the paper contract along with her alter ego faded as she began serenading up stage.

"I can worry about the paper later…" she thought in her mind. "For now, Maaya has to sing on. The show must go on."

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The sun was shining, the sky was endless marble of blue, birds were serenading everywhere, and a light breeze blew through the air as a green-eyed brunette stepped out of the glass door and into the sunshine.

This was what he needed; peace and quiet.

After horrendously dry and formal meetings like the one he had attended earlier, the old wavering president of the Aoi Yama group of companies often looked forward to walks in the forest behind the company area.

For hours he would stroll aimlessly around until his secretary would call him on the phone, telling that he had another matter to attend to.

By the time he got to his office at the top floor, he would be a little rejuvenated and more than ready to face all the company affairs.

The twigs and leaves scrunched under his feet as he stepped into the foliage and in the secluded moment he had, the brunette was reminded of his children. He longed for them to join in his little walk but he knew that they couldn't.

They were no longer children. They had lives of their own and their own matters to attend to.

He sighed. This would most certainly be another solitary walk.

There was nothing wrong with solitary, he was used to solitude. It was just that he hadn't seen his children for some time now and he certainly needed a break in his daily routine.

Seeing their faces would have certainly lightened his day.

Stopping to take a breath for a moment, the man turned around and looked back at the trail he had passed through.

Ah, he was rather a long way off from the company.

Taking a few more minutes to breathe, he decided start heading back. His head was a little bit dizzy right now and he really wanted to take a nap when he got back.

But then midway, the old president suddenly found his breath growing short. His heart began racing as he heard the blood pounding in his ears and the dizziness of his headache catapulted.

Something was terribly wrong with him.

Grabbing his phone, the old man dialed the number of his secretary without a moment's hesitation. He couldn't call his children, they were too far to get to him straight away and his secretary was the only person he could trust in the company.

"Takihatchi-san!"

"Moshimoshi. Anou, is this you, President Fuji Okinawa-san?"

"Get here right away! I need your help! Hayaku, please!"

Seconds after delivering his SOS, he crumbled down onto the hard cold forest floor with his head spinning. Pain seared as he felt sharp stones cut into his skin in the impact of his drop.

Blood began oozing out rapidly and he couldn't move to stop it. He was paralyzed.

All he could do now was listen, listen to the chirping of the birds, the rustling of the leaves and to the distant voice of his secretary on the phone shouting for others to help as he slowly lost consciousness.

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Itsuka, konna hi ga kuru to yokan shita

Koi ni tomadou kokoro yurete yurete itai hodo..

Daremo, kidzukanai fukai kanashimi mo

Naze ka tsutawatte shimau

Marude saiai no hito no you ni

*Watashi to iu chiisa na hoshi

Hito shizuku no ai ga mebaeta

Ushinau mono osorete wa tatakaenai

Tsuki ni inori hoshi ni inori

Yuku beki michi mune ni kizamu

Namida ga atsuku naru wake wa..

Unmei no Piece of Love

Meguriaeta Piece of Heart

Subete miseta nara kokoro ubawareru..

Keredo nugisutete yukeru

Sore wa saiai no hito to dakara

Ookisugiru yume wa tooku tachidomaru wake ni wa ikanai

Watashi no kokoro dake mitasu ai naraba..

Kaze ni inori ame ni inori

Arashi o ima yokan shite mo

Saigo wa hitotsu ni naru no ga..

Hontou no Piece of Love

Deau tame no Pain of Love

A few more notes were hit on the keyboard into a fade, then the audience went wild with applauses and screams. Maaya stood up and thanked her audience with a bow. Waving, the singer turned around backstage and left her fans to be entertained by her hired dancers while she went to drink a glass of thirst-quenching water and change,

She didn't have the luxury of taking too long because a few more minutes and the crowd would already be searching for her. Besides, she still had to get the other half of the concert on the road.

The concert was still half-way done and she was hoping to finish early so she could take some time to rest. Fuji-sempai would be definitely worried right now, especially since she didn't get much of a chance to rest since they had left the hospital.

Gulping down the last drops of the liquid in the glass prepared for her, she walked up to her dressing room to be surprised.

"Karumi-chan? Where's Ichikotso-san? I thought she was supposed to help me get dressed, not you, my manager."

"Don't worry. I know exactly what I'm doing here. Here, take this." Answered Karumi, throwing over and outfit.

"Wait. I don't know about this. A fitting black spaghetti strap dress that's _ultra_ short? I can't wear this!"

"Awww, come on Maaya-chan! You have to be super sexy tonight because you've got to announce something very special. With something as important as this announcement, you've really got to put your best foot forward."

Sakuno looked up from her ducked position as she put on a pair of black high-heels.

Karumi was certainly full of surprises today and that smile she had on right now was too mysteriously mischievous to Sakuno's liking.

The last time Karumi smiled that way, Sakuno found herself being pushed into the pool in the gym back in high school. By that experience alone she could tell that this 'announcement' wasn't good news.

"Oh, just the announcement that you, Nadeshiko Maaya have been dating Echizen Ryoma for months now and that you two are now an official couple. It's not much of a biggie, isn't it? And, don't worry, it's not real; your 'relationship' I mean. Its under contract," the lavender-eyed woman breezed through nonchalantly with a sheepish grin tugging at her face.

"WHAT?!!"

"You have to announce it in the concert you know, before the press conference. Toshigo-san said so. Okay, see you after the concert. Ja."

"No, wait! I refuse to do this……I can't do it. Karumi!" Sakuno grasped her manager's hands before she could hop off to Kami knows where. "You have to. It's for your career."

"I can't."

"You still have to. You already signed it here. Remember?" blew Karumi, holding out the piece of paper she had signed earlier. " And besides, don't you love Echizen?"

"I…..I…."

"Maaya! Maaya! Maaya!" the crowd started to get restless again.

"I need to go Karumi!" shouted Sakuno as she ran back to the stage. "And I still can't do the announcing. I'm too shocked to."

"Humph, I'll do it then…grrrr….stupid client…." grumbled the shrewd little manager.

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"Nya, Ochibi, wake up! The concert's almost done nya, so you have to stay awake. We paid a lot for those tickets nya, don't waste it!"

Ryoma woke up to the sound of earsplitting screams, to the waking up calls of Eiji, and to the blender-like shaking that accompanied those calls. His head was already twirling around by the time he was fully awake, and Echizen Ryoma did not enjoy head-twirls.

"Eiji-sempai, can you put me down? I'm already awake."

"It's starting again, nya! Maaya's singing!" giggled the kitty-faced sempai in delight as he threw the tennis prince back into his seat , clapped his hands happily and gave his sole attention to the woman singing.

"Ahhh," Ryoma breathed in relief.

Straightening up in his seat, he began listening to the song.

"Hmmm," muttered the prodigy. "Ryuuzaki isn't bad. I prefer her hair to be auburn though."

He never knew that Ryuuzaki could sing this well. The girl truly had talent in her, he had to admit. Before, he had never listened to an entire song, but when she had begun singing it was like he couldn't fall asleep ever again.

He had only fallen asleep earlier because he wasn't paying any attention at all to her singing because he was too busy ignoring the screeching fan people of hers. They were just too annoyingly loud to deserve any of his attention, so he decided to sleep through it all.

It was a good thing that Eiji had shook him up. He would have missed the entire concert and he would never have known how good Ryuuzaki was at singing.

"Hey, is it done already? That was rather quick."

Ryoma looked rather disappointed that the song had finished so soon. He was tempted to join the ruckus of the fans begging for more but then he noticed that Ryuuzaki had gone backstage and came back with that senseless manager of hers by her side. By the gravity and seriousness in her looks, Ryoma could tell that she had something important to say.

"Anou, Konbanwa, minna-san! It's such a lovely night for some music isn't it? So are you having fun tonight everyone?"

"Hai!" rang out the audience.

"That's great! Well, you know what minna, I've been meaning to tell you something important to me. Something about me that no one has ever known before. Of course, there'll be a press conference about it, but I wanted you guys to be the first to know that….t-that…t-that I-I, I-I h-have a….a"

Whispers began circulating to and fro among her fans as the singer became lost her voice and became deathly pale.

"Ne, ne, ne, what's wrong with Maaya-sama?" "Why is Maaya-sama stuttering? Maaya-sama never stuttered before. She never stutters!" "Yeah! She really must have something important to say. Waaaah! What if she's going to say that she's going to resign from the music business. Oh no, I don't want that to happen! "

Rumors were going round and round in all sorts of hilarious shapes and sizes like hilarious presumptions about the imaginary resignation papers, babies, and anything of the like.

The rumors would have definitely sky-rocketed and ruined Maaya's reputation had Karumi not added in, " have a boyfriend! Yup, that's right people, the one and only Nadeshiko Maaya has been out dating and after leading four years of her career as a single woman, she has finally found her match. The best thing of them all is that her boyfriend is someone we all know and love too!"

The reaction of the audience was indescribable and endless.

Her female fans wailed out their piercing 'ayees' with the pitch of a dying hawk while her male fans ( the ones desperately in love with her) fell down in watery tears and floods of disappointment.

Her odd fans such as the cold, quiet and mysterious types (yes her music was appealing even to them) prime example of which was none other than the stoic poker-faced seigaku ex-tennis captain Tezuka Kunimitsu, simply hid their regret in having their crush/idol being taken away from them.

All the facial reactions of each and every person had a special something in it though which would make it as uniquely personal as possible, such as the horrible scowl on Echizen Ryoma's face, such as Kikumaru Eiji actually tripping on his own feet ( unbelievable! * . * ) and such as Inui losing hold of his precious notebook.

All in all each expression had its distinctness in itself, but (yes there's a but) that was merely the initial part of their reaction.

The latter part had absolutely no difference as they shouted in unison, "WHO?"

The answer to their question definitely deserved more screaming and wailing.

"Who else but the ever great Echizen Ryoma!"

The crowd went wild.

They all could hardly believe it, especially Ryoma. He really tried to search his memory if he had gotten into an accident and missed out on a part of his life where he dated Ryuuzaki because of amnesia, but no, he had never gotten into an accident. No, had never dated either, and they were not a couple, so how in the world?

Just amidst the shrieks and screams.

Ring, ring, ring, ring. "Moshimoshi?"

"Echizen?"

"Dare desu ka?"

"Toshigo, your manager, ahou."

"What do you want? And do you have anything to do with my supposed girlfriend issue?"

"Ne, you should be happy that I did this for you. You finally got your auburn head love."

Not needing a single word more, he then hung up.

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"What?! Father had a ―? Alright, don't worry. I'll be there immediately. Yuuta, call Neesan. She needs to know this too. Tell her she should leave the anniversary for a moment. This is important."

Snapping his mobile shut, Fuji Syuusuke walked back towards the open door leading to the concert area with a heavy weight on his shoulders.

His father just had a heart attack and he had to leave as soon as possible.

That meant he wouldn't be able to keep his promise to watch over Sakuno-chan. But he had made a promise and to Fuji Syuusuke, promises that he made were always sacred.

"What should I do now? Father needs me…but so does Sakuno-chan."

Both of them needed him very much, and both of them were of outmost importance to him.

His head was already cracking under pressure of the two heavy choices. Considering that matter, it would be even harder for him to make the right decision with an aching head.

"_Ah, yes, that's right,"_ an idea popped into his mind._ "Maaya, no, Sakuno-chan's music is rather soothing to hear. Listening to my sweet kouhai sing may ease my frazzled mind."_

"_Hmmmm…..it really is beautiful…."_ Thought the cerulean-eyed brunette as he stood leaning at the side of the door.

With talent like that, no wonder the girl had become Japan's most outstanding teen singer/celebrity in just a short period of time. She even won all sorts of awards after starting 4 months of her career.

"_Hmph,"_ he smirked as he observed a certain person donning a white fila cap ( Echizen cat live without that thing. He'll die without it.)_ " Even Echizen seems to enjoy her singing."_

Fuji's mind-healing session came to a halt when the song ended and Nadeshiko Maaya picked up the microphone to speak, not sing a tune.

Somehow the tensai had a feeling that what she was going to say was going to be no better than the little dilemma that he was in.

As usual, he was right. ( what do you expect of a genius?)

Sakuno was dating. Okay, rewind those words. His kouhai, Sakuno-chan, dating? The pigtailed girl he knew was before was extremely shy and she had never had a date in her life. No single boy would dare go near her with him around.

Sakuno had a boyfriend. Rewind that again. Sakuno with another guy? That was preposterous. He was her bestfriend, so he knew almost everything about her, and the girl hadn't even shown a meager sign of attraction to any man, except Echizen of course, but that was before Fuji was there for her.

Sakuno and Echizen as a couple. Again, rewind that thing. Ryoma and Sakuno had a mutual understanding? That couldn't be. It was impossible. That bastard had hurt her badly and Fuji knew Sakuno-chan was smarter than to make the same mistake twice.

None of the things being spoken by her manager jived with the reality that Sakuno had to go through.

That only meant one thing.

"_Sakuno-chan's relationship with Echizen is under a contract. It's forced on Sakuno-chan when she doesn't want it!" _

How could Echizen dare to make such a ludicrously selfish mistake? Does desperation lead people he thought to be virtuous and upright despite his dense mind to do the most heartless acts?

" _I thought Echizen had changed. I guess I was wrong." _

Before the crowd could utter a single word of reaction, the tennis tensai walked away down the hall where he wouldn't hear their happy screams of delight.

The news he had just heard was now one of the burdens he had to bear, aside from his father's heart attack and the promise he made to Ryuuzaki-sensie, and decidedly, this was the heaviest burden of them all.

At this rate, his dear little kouhai would get hurt again..

The very thought of Sakuno-chan shedding a single teardrop made him furiously angry at Echizen and all who forced her to accept the contract.

"I swear I will find the person who did this to Sakuno-chan and make him pay." He muttered angrily, banging his fist on the wall.

"You already found that person."

Fuji's icy electric blue eyes blazed down to see a petite azure-haired woman, known none other than Karumi-san, Sakuno-chan's manager.

The intensity of the feeling called vengeance ebbed inside Fuji. His blood began to boil as he violently grabbed her shoulder and pinned her to the wall. Not even for a second did his cold hard gaze leave her.

"Why? Answer me Karumi-san! Why did you force Sakuno-chan to become Echizen's girlfriend?!"

"And why are you so angry about it, Fuji-sempai?"

Gripping her tightly, he slammed her on the wall. "Answer!"

Wincing in pain, the girl opened her eyes, looked deep into his, and tried her best not to cry.

" I know why you're so mad Fuji-sempai. You, you wouldn't hurt me like this if you weren't. I'm not the one at fault here. I didn't actually force it on her. Sakuno-chan wanted this herself. See, here's the contract. She signed it herself."

"It's a lie!" He crumpled the paper in his hands and hurled it on the floor. "You must be as blind as a bat to not know that Sakuno would never allow herself to fall into the same trap. You're hurting her, you insolent woman! I won't allow you to hurt her anymore!"

Karumi had had enough already. This was more than she could take.

"You're the one who's blind!" screamed the now crying woman. " You're blinded because you don't see her as a friend you need to protect! You're in love with her! Y-you, you love….her and you've never realized it up to now!"

Fuji was taken aback by the tear-streaked woman's words as she shoved him aside and was speechless as she went on.

"It hurts….it hurts to see you protecting her, loving her…" she whimpered in between sobs. "giving your all to her…when…when she can't love you back. Sempai, she's wholeheartedly in love with Echizen because I've been with her for years. I didn't leave her for college, no I was there with her, so I of all people should know her the most. Let her go! Echizen loves her, and she loves him. They're happy with each other, can't you see that? You'll be hurting yourself if you keep this going on….please….you don't have to hurt yourself anymore."

The tensai's eyes widened as he found the girl sobbing, sniffling, clutching at his shirt and leaning on his chest. "Please…let her go…"

Finally, Fuji understood why he felt that strange feeling in the carnival, why he always wanted to protect her, why he never wanted to see her cry. Now he knew the reason why he didn't want to see Echizen and his Sakuno-chan together.

Karumi-san was right.

He, Fuji Syuusuke, had fallen in love with his kouhai, Ryuuzaki Sakuno.

She was also right when she said that he was throwing himself into a world of hurt, and oh, Kami, how painful it was!

After all the years of confusion and unknown feelings, someone had finally enlightened him to the truth about his feelings for his kouhai. But just when he had finally discovered that he loved the girl, he found out that she was taken away from him without even a chance to say how he felt. To make matters worse, add that to the fact that this was the first time he had loved a woman before.

To find love and lose it on the same day!

The anguish he felt was gut-wrenching, like the pain of a heart being ripped out of the chest using a spoon.

Damn! He was a sadist. Paon was never meant for himself, it was always made especially for infliction on others.

The most terrifying things of them all was he couldn't do anything to mend his broken heart. He couldn't stop Sakuno-chan and Echizen from being with each other. Her happiness was and always will be above his own.

He didn't care, she was more important to him than himself. He would have to endure, no matter how much it would make him suffer.

Even now he could feel the paralyzing sting of suffering and wondered how he would make it through life like this. It hurt so much that he really wanted and need someone or something to help him forget and move on. Maybe something to just ease him for a little even.

" Sempai," whispered Karumi in his ears as leaned her head in the crook of his neck. "You have to set her free. I understand how much it hurts, but you have to. Really, I understand. You see, I've gone through the same thing too. I fell in love with someone I knew but then found out that he was in love with my bestfriend and employer, so I gave him up. But now, I find him down and broken-hearted. Fate had given me another chance. The only question that remains now sempai is will he give me a chance? No….will you give me a chance, sempai?"

"I – I…"

"_Fuji," _went on his inner self, "maybe this is the soothing person you've been looking for. This may be the answer to your prayers. Maybe she can take your mind off Sakuno-chan."

Sighing ,the tensai let Karumi do as she willed. So as her hands slithered around his face, Fuji Syuusuke stayed motionless and still, letting the lavender-eyed woman pull his face closer and closer to hers.

In a split second, his eyes widened to find himself trapped in a wild and frantic kiss. He didn't kiss her back, but he did not push her away either. He just closed his eyes and let her lips glide over his.

Feeling the lips of the man she had always wanted in her possession, Karumi was in absolute ecstasy and she kissed him deeper and deeper. Her pink tongue practically wanted to kiss his lips away, begging for entrance which Fuji was hesitant to give. Even so, it still made Karumi crazy and insane with happiness, and when she at last pulled away from him she was moaning in pleasure.

"Will you really give me a chance, Syuusuke-kun?" she asked in a husky voice, tracing his lips with her manicured fingers.

"Karumi-san. I ―"

" Ne, its Karumi from now on, okay, Syuusuke koishii?"

"Karumi-chan, I-I will try my best. There's something that I need to do first. Then maybeI could leave with a new start, with you….."

Fuji began walking away towards the end of the hall towards his room. Karumi watched him step away with a smirk and a gleam of success in her shiny eyes.

"I cant believe Syuusuke fell for it hook, line and sinker….I really won…..Fuji Syuusuke….is finally mine!" she laughed happily as she licked her lips. " Syuusuke is finally mine!"

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Japanese Terms

Chotto Matte – wait, please wait

Nani – what

Naze – why

Moshimoshi – opening greeting used on the phone. Equivalent to hello.

Ne – hey

Koishi – darling

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Translation of the song used in chap 6

Piece of Love

Pitchi Pitchi Pitch

Rina image song

Have I felt that this day would once come..?

My heart puzzled with love is swaying, and swaying, 'till it hurts

The deep sorrows no one is aware of

For some reason gets carried on too

Just as if it was like a beloved person

*On a little star, that is me,

A single drop of love sprouted

I can't fight my fear of losing people

A prayer to the Moon, and a prayer to the stars

Engrave the path I should go with in my heart

The reason why my tears are getting hot..

Is a destined Piece of Love,

A Piece of Heart I was able to encounter

If I'd show you the whole me, would my heart get stolen..?

But still, I have strength to throw away my cloth

That's because it would be together with my beloved person

My huge dreams are far... but I can't stop going for them

In case it's the love that only can fill my heart..?

A prayer to the wind, and a prayer to the rain

I can feel the storm coming even now

The two that in the end become one are..

A true Piece of Love and

Pain of Love before I can meet you

*repeat *repeat

* Special thanks to AnimeLyrics. Com for the lyrics and translation of the song Piece of Love.

A/N: The song doesn't have any particular meaning in the story. I just decided to put it there for the fun of it. = }

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A/N: Anou, hello again Minna! I'm so sorry that it took me so long to finish this chap. So does this little delay need an explanation? ( Me scolding myself: of course stupid. XD ) Alright, well, you wont believe what actually happened. Remember me saying that I write my draft in a notebook and that it was near to done? Well, 4 weeks back I was already past chapter11 or something and I was really, and I mean really ecstatic. I was practically jumping up and down the bed! But then an evil cloud poured down rain ….in the form of my father….shudder……shudder…..and he…he burned the whole notebook! Damn, I was so near to done!

I cried so much because of that. I almost even decided to quit writing this fic. Thanks to my betareader Silkstar, I decided not to and I am now rewriting everything.

Sorry I couldn't rewrite this chap sooner, it's just that we had our final exams last, last week and we had to prepare for the national exams too so we were kind of busy.

That's the second reason why I'm a month off schedule. So sorry for the inconvenience. I hope you understand. My father just has this burning-other-people's-fics-which-were-written-with-effort complex. I just hope he doesn't burn my second notebook. ( zzzzzzoooooommmmmmm. Don't mind this, this is just me running away as far and as fast as I can with my new notebook from an old idiot named my father with a torch in his hand. Nya! . )

Anyway, how did you find chap 6 guys? Was it okay?

I really hate Karumi. I guess I just went overboard with her so that I could hate her all the more. (bwahahahaha!)

Chapter 7 up next. I'll try my best to not keep you guys waiting! : )

**P. S.** Don't forget to review okay? Please, this goes out to everyone reading this fic. I constantly find Silverdoe-chan and Rebecca-chan the only people helping me out with the reviews. People help me out here! My father told me flatly that he'd burn my notebook if he doesn't see anything productive in my fics like reviews or comments or stuff! Waaaaahhhhh…..I don't wanna see another of my notebooks burned again…so please review people. It hurts to see something you've worked hard on being thrown into the fire. : (


	7. Is this really Sayonara?

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: I definitely own Prince of Tennis or any of it's characters. Owning them is Konomi-sensei's job. Mine is manipulating them in this story.

Chapter 6

Is this Really Sayonara?

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"Hoi, Hoi, Ochibi. You seriously have some explaining to do nya!"

"Yeah Echizen! You never told anyone about dating Maaya-chan, which includes me, Momo, your best buddy!"

"THAT'S RIGHT ECHIZEN! HEY, DON'T RUN AWAY! BUUUURRRNNIINNG!"

"Echizen Ryoma, get back here right now and explain all of this before I make you run laps around the entire planet with Inui juice as water!"

Oh goody. This was better than Ryoma had expected. Everyone was now ganging up on him like mad, delirious brutes, including his teammates. Cheh. And he had thought that they would be happy for him.

He thought that his closest friends would at least turn down the resentment even just for a little while for his sake and share in his happiness.

Yes, Echizen Ryoma was happy. Really happy. In fact he was so glad that he was smiling like crazy.

All that mirth disappeared though when he saw his teammates turn into creepy zombie-like mobsters that begun chasing him up and down the halls. His smile? Well, it turned into a very ugly scowl.

""Huff, huff, huff. Good. Lost them," panted the tennis prince, locking the door behind him. "At least I managed to get into this room."

Pulling the already sweaty towel from his back, he squeezed out most of the moisture and then used the cloth to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

Oh yes, do not misunderstand. Ryoma was sweating after that run. He still was the world tennis champion, but his sempai's weren't all that bad either. They had chased him up and down the halls endlessly until he found an open room where he could hide in.

"Excuse me sir, but the autograph signing was done minutes ago and you really got into my room at the wrong time. So if I may, I 'm requesting you to leave and please don't turn back because ―"

Just like the cocky and stubborn brat that he was, Echizen did not listen to the familiar female voice that told him to leave.

Leave he did not, turn around he did, only to recognize the woman with dripping wet jet black tresses and clothed only in a simple bath towel as his socially announced 'girlfriend', Nadeshiko Maaya.

"I said ― anou, Echizen-san, it's you. What are you doing in here?" squeaked the surprised singer, lifting the towel higher up her chest.

"Ne, I was about to ask you the same question, Ryuuzaki. This is Nadeshiko-san's dressing room after all."

"What are you talking about Echizen-san? I'm not Ryuu ―"

With one quick swipe, Ryoma grabbed her so-called 'ebony tresses'. He smirked as he swung the wig back and forth in front of the girl's widened eyes.

"Yeah right."

"But how did you know?!"

"Heh. I saw you remove your wig last time."

Just then, just as Ryoma was about to chuckle happily at the dismayed expression on Ryuuzaki's face, loud voices were heard booming outside the door.

"Are you sure he went in here miss?" "Hai." " Ok, arigatou."

Damn, this was bad. Running over to the door, he grabbed the nearest chair he could finf and wedged it under the knob. Still not feeling safe enough, he leaned his entire body weight on the door.

"Ryuuzaki!" he mouthed to the girl staring at him in confusion "Put something on! Hurry up, before the sampai tachi break down the door!"

She didn't need to be told twice. ( a/n: shouldn't it rather be 'mouthed twice' ? I don't really know for sure ) Still leaning on the door, Ryoma could hear his sempai's shrill calls.

"BUUUURRNING! OI ECHIZEN, IMA TO AGETE!"

"Open up Echizen!"

"Inui juice is waiting for you if you don't! Baka!"

"Nya, we know you're in there Ochibi!"

Finally after what seemed to Ryoma a million years of waiting ( every second of waiting seems like a couple of hundred thousand years when you're life's at stake), the bathroom door swung open to let out a fully dressed Ryuuzaki Sakuno dressed in a white – dress?

Oh great. Kami save us all.

"Why are you wearing a dress?!"

"Gomen ne, dakara, there was nothing else to wear!"

"Ugh, you're Nadeshiko Maaya, you have tons of stuff to wear! Like jeans, t-shirts, and anything else aside from dresses." He groaned. The noise outside grew louder and louder as Echizen took hold of the girl's hand. "We don't have time for any of this. They're gonna force a way in any minute. Let's go!"

"Matte!" Ryuuzaki halted right in her tracks. "Kuso, what is it now?"

"Could you please zipper up my dress? I couldn't do it because it's at my back."

"There," declared the feline-eyed lad after zipping it up " Now come on."

Running towards the open balcony, the couple looked around for an emergency staircase or any other way out. Unfortunately there wasn't any in sight. So, Ryoma took the only option he had. He jumped down the balcony.

"Ryoma-kun, that was dangerous! We're on the second floor. You could have gotten yourself seriously injured!"

"Well, I'm not hurt, see? Ryuuzaki, jump down now. Trust me, I'll be here to catch you!" he shouted at the now auburn-haired singer. By the looks of her hands securely fastened around the railings, it was obvious that she did not enjoy jumping off balconies risking her life.

"No, I cant jump down! Go on without me! Hayaku!"

"What? No way Ryuuzaki. Just do as I told you. I'll be here to catch you, I swear. Hurry up! Our sempai tachi are starting their countdown, cant you hear it?"

ONE.

" I can't do it Ryoma-kun!"

TWO.

"Ryuuzaki just do it!" "No. I cant."

THREE.

"Alright. Kyaaaa!" she screamed as she jumped down. Ryoma immediately came to the kicking and screaming woman's aide, looked for the right angle, opened out his arms and let the girl plop right into his arms, princess style. Ryoma looked down at her to find her still closing her eyes and shuddering in terror. When she opened them, he was already laughing his head off at her petrified but cute-looking face.

"See. That wasn't so bad Ryuuzaki. I caught you like I said, didn't I?" he chuckled, holding her closer to him.

The auburn head shifted around his arms. Apparently she felt uneasy about their proximity and the gesture obviously meant 'I want down.' Her telling him to do so proved it.

"Ryoma-kun, could you please put me down now? I don't feel so good up here." "Alright."

As Sakuno's feet touched the ground, she jumped and gasped in astonishment.

"What is it Ryuuzaki?"

"The sempai tachi just broke down the door. We need to hide."

Ryoma heard a loud crash and knew she was right. His sempais had really gone haywire. Ordering Ryuuzaki to follow him, the tow hurriedly ran for cover underneath a thick set of bushes. They were careful not to make any noise that might give them away.

"Hoi, hoi, Momo, any sign of him outside the balcony nya?" " No, Eiji-sempai. Not a single sign of him." "Oh, so Ochibi really isn't here. Let's go nya."

The regulars voices became dimmer and dimmer until they could be heard no more and the two sighed in relief. The danger had finally passed. Getting up from his hiding place, Ryoma brushed off the dust from his pants, then held out his hand for the girl on the ground to take.

"Huh? Where are we going Ryoma-kun? It's already getting late you know and the sun's about to set. I've got to get to my room."

"To your room," he replied as he dragged her off.

"But the room is in the other building and the shortest way to get there is by passing through the front. So why are we passing at the back by the shore?" asked Sakuno, raising her eyebrows in curiosity."

"Good question. Well, because we're taking the long cut and not the short cut. Beside's I want to talk to you about some things."

"Some 'things' like you wanting to get caught by our sempai tachi either because you feel guilty about not explaining to them or just because you miss the Aozu?" she joked in a fit of giggles.

Rolling his eyes at her, Ryoma shoved the auburn-head into the foamy water so that she got wet up to her knees. This time it was his turn to laugh at her pouting face.

"Hey! Not fair!" she cried catching up with him.

"Fine, you miss the aozu then. Wait till I tell Inui-sempai!" she declared, sticking out her tongue out at him. She ran a bit farther away from him to avoid getting wet again but when she looked back he was trudging on in the sand without a single reaction on his face. She jogged back next to him and poked his face twice to get his attention.

"Ryoma-kun, daijoubo ka?" asked Sakuno worriedly.

"Huh? Ahhhh- hai, hai. Daijoubo. I was just thinking about the sempai's little 'hide and seek' game with me earlier. It kind of reminded me of all the antics we used to play in middleschool; the old times," he sighed.

"The old times, eh? Hmmm, yeah, it kind of reminds me of middleschool too. But the 'hide and seek' isn't the only one that does that. A lot of other things make me reminisce about the past. Like right now."

"What do you mean?" asked Ryoma, looking at her for an answer.

"I mean this. The setting sun, the waves moving up and down the shore, the breeze blowing past us. It kind of reminds me of the time Fuji-sempai took me along with him on his family trip to the beach. The sun was setting just like this. It was so amazing and I was so happy to see it that I jumped up and down the sand. I even dragged Fuji-sempai into the water with me just to look at it," she giggled happily at the tender recollection " Fuji-sempai said that if it were possible, he would rather have the sun always setting. I still don't understand why he did, but it really is like him to say that."

Wading into the water, Sakuno bent over, picked up a shell and smiled.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" "Yeah."

Ryuuzaki looked so happy as she smiled and let the fading rays of the sun glow on her porcelain skin. Ryoma wished he could be the one to make her smile like that. He had never seen her this happy before and his chest felt lighter seeing her bubbly face.

Without even thinking it over, he decided to take a chance and fix things between them, their unresolved issues. Walking over the water he splashed towards her.

"But not everything is all beautiful," he replied, the grin on his face fading as he picked the shell out of her hand to show a tiny hole underneath it. "Just like some things that I wish I could erase."

"Eh? But there's nothing about the past that I want to change Ryoma-kun. I don't regret anything that happened in my life because everything made me the way I am today."

"Listen, I'm not really the type of guy to spill my gut out, so I want you to take this seriously Ryuuzaki," instructed the tennis prince solemnly. Sakuno nodded her head obedientlyand gave him her sole attention.

"Hai, Echizen-san."

"Alright. There are five major points that I want to make clear with you Ryuuzaki since you and I are in this 'contract relationship' together thanks to our conspiring little managers. First and foremost, to you I am 'Ryoma-kun'. Don't call me Echizen-san or anything else. Secondly, even though I think my manager is a harebrained dimwit, I'm glad he made our 'relationship' possible. Thirdly……oh kami….this is the hard part… I— I want you to know that I know there have been things that I've done wrong. Like downright rejecting your feelings for me even though—even though I liked you too. Like being a cold baka towards you. Fourth point. The reason why all of that stuff happened was because all those years ago when I was still 15, I —I admit I was cold and immature. When you told me that you loved me, I didn't know how to react. Ryuuzaki, I, I want to ask forgiveness for hurting you all these years."

"Demo, I've already done that a long time ago, Echi-iie, Ryoma-kun." She assured the tennis prince, looking up at him with a smile. "You really didn't need to ask for my forgiveness. You already had it."

Sakuno unquestionably had never expected Echizen Ryoma to say that much. She didn't expect him to ask for her forgiveness at all, much less say that he had actually liked her. It came as a huge surprise to her. Ryoma, the tennis prince, saying all those was unbelievable but it made her a little glad to know that at least he had spoken his heart out sincerely. The Ryoma she knew was not like that. She liked it anyway, not in a special way though.

"Honto ni?" "Honto." "Kitto yatta." He gave out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Now then, wil you hear out the fifth point?" "Alright, go ahead. Shoot."

Sakuno was so sure the eye of the storm had passed and she blabbered those words confidently. Boy was she wrong. The storm was yet to come.

"Fifth point Ryuuzaki……w-will you be my girlfriend for real?"

Kya. Now she knew the eye had just passed over. What he said left her stunned and speechless. She couldn't say anything.

The mood suddenly became quiet and tense and Ryoma was no help in lightening it up. The walk home was a silent one as Sakuno let the thought of her becoming Ryoma-un's real girlfriend glide around in her mind. It would be a tough decision that she had to make on her own.

"Well, anou, thank you for walking me home, Ryoma-kun…..she managed to say when they had reached the door of her hotel room. "Hn. Betsuni. I'll be waiting for your answer Ryuuzaki."

"H-hai. Oyasumi nasai."

"Oyasumi nasai."

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

Silence reigned inside a classy European pastry shop that sat idly around the outskirts of the upperclass area of seishun. Not a single costumer had came into the shop since yesterday and the poor little employees were bored to death.

Some of the waitresses were snoring on top of the tables, the cashier was busy trying to amuse himself to the extent of insanity by counting the few ants that tried to scamper across the counter topped with unwanted muffins, cookies, and all sorts of pastries while the baker happily made stupid smiley face cookies with some extra dough. Little did they know that their quiet little world would be turned upside down by two mere customers.

"Konbanwa minna-san!" a formidable, spectacled brunette with a huge voice barged into the room. "We'd like to see your cake catalogues for wedding cakes. I want the best that you can find! I don't care if it will take you the entire night, just find me the best!"

The man's merry sing-song voice was enough to wake them all up. But it was the older woman that followed after him who brought life back into them.

"Damn! Why did you have to come along in the first place Shino no baka! I could have chosen the cake in peace by myself!" grumbled the fierce old lady angrily as she stomped her way to the table where the books were set and slammed them open with a force so hard, the waitresses practically jumped out of their skin. Ryuuzaki Sumire was a customer like no other.

"Maa, maa, Okaasan. You know that it's my day off today. I just couldn't resist coming along to help my dearest Kaasan with some of the wedding preparations."

"Hmph. Stop giving me that evil grin of yours Shino. I'm your mother for crying out loud. If I know you only came along to pick out the 'best' cake yourself. You don't trust me enough to make the decisions for the 'best'. Well I'm going to prove you wrong. Here, this cake should do it. Sakuno-chan loves sakura petals as designs," declared the older Ryuuzaki as she shoved the catalogue in front of her sons face.

In it was a photo of athree-layer wedding cake drowned with pink sakura petal blossom candies, white icing and heart designs. Ryuuzaki-sensei smirked triumphantly at her success as her son contemplated over the photo.

"Iie." Bip. Smirk erased.

"Nanika?"

"Kaasan, this is one of the reasons why I came along. Just look at the thing. Three-layers only, with heart nonsense? That simply won't do. My daughter's wedding has to be grand, splendid……..p-e-r-f-e-c-t."

Oh-oh. And here comes the perfectionist Ryuuzaki Shino with sparkles in his eyes as he daydreams about his child's 'flawless' wedding.

"It just has to be perfect Okaasan."

"Grrr! You and perfection! How about this one then?"

"Nah, kaasan. Pistachio nuts?"

"This?"

"It's mocha. People hate mocha."

"How about this?"

"Five-layers? I need more than that."

"This, this, this, this, this, or this? How about this one?"

"Hmmmmm…..let me take a good look at those…..Nope. none of them will do."

"NONE?! THEN WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT THEN?" His mother flared up like a nuclear bomb with blood red eyes and an aura of great doom hovering about her.

Some of the poor waitresses fainted, while the cashier took for cover underneath the counter. They were all so frightened out of their wits. Well everyone is when they see Ryuuzaki Sumire mad. She isn't an easy person to deal with when angry.

But….when you are her son that gets to see that for almost all your entire life, then you become immune to it. You just smile like nothing had ever happened. And that was what Shino exactly did.

"Hehe. If none of those will do then I shall simply have it custom made. That would be perfect, ne, okaasan? Okay, so while I make the order, why don't you answer your phone? It's ringing."

"Oh. It's Fuji. I wonder what he wants," mussed Ryuuzaki-sensei as she flipped her cellphone open.

"Okinawa is calling you? That's weird. He never had the guts to talk to you before. Is it the end of the world or something?"

"It isn't Fuji Okinawa ahou. It's one of my players. Now hurry up and order. I need to take this call."

The news Ryuuzaki-sensei received on her phone made her want to faint. Her hand suddenly felt numb due to the shock and the phone fell down, smashed into a million pieces.

"Mother? Daijoubo ka? I just finished all the little details when I heard something break. What happened to your phone?"

Grabbing her son by the collar, the fierce ex-coach of Seigaku's tennis team dragged her son out of the shop.

"Fuji Syuusuke called to tell me that he could no longer keep an eye over Sakuno-chan because he has to visit his father in the hospital. He is planning to hand over the responsibility over to Sakuno-chan's new boyfriend. NEW BOYFRIEND"

"What?!!"

"You really have to do something about this. The 'new boyfriend' is Echizen Ryoma. My mago-chan's love life is now really more messed up than it ought to be."

"The one who broke her heart? Oh no,no,no,no! I have to talk with Okinawa now and put an end to this madness. Saku-chan cannot have her love-life messed up by that cruel heartless monster. She's going to get married in a few weeks!"

"Baka! I told you to DO SOMETHING, not talk with Okinawa! When will you ever stop relying on your bestfriend? For Kami's sake, didn't I say he was taken to the hospital? You have to stop fooling around! This is my granddaughter we're talking about!" argued the protective grandmother worriedly. "Okinawa should have nothing to do with this! He had a heart attack. He has problems of his own."

"All the more reason to see him," muttered her stubborn son. Hopping into his car, he started the engine. "I'll call Sakura and tell her to pick you up. Stay there. I'm going."

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

"Sakuno-chan, you love her, set her free, Sakuno-chan, Sakuno-chan, ahhhhhh —" snapping his cerulean orbs open, the tennis tensai woke up panting hard.

He could hardly get any sleep. Whenever he would try closing his eyes, he would start dreaming about his lost love. He would dream about laughing with her, about kiss her soft luscious lips, about holding her hand in his, about him loving her and her loving him. Then Echizen would enter his dream, wrap his arms around Sakuno-chan in front of him and take her away from him. Fuji would then feel a knife stabbing his heart and he would wake up panting in his bed.

Oh kami, this was so hard for him. I had only been six hours since he had realized he had someone he truly loved and lost her, and how he was beginning to dream those kind of dreams.

He probably just couldn't take it. It was painful to think he actually lost her just as soon as he had realized that he had loved her all along.

It was even more painful to think that the only way he could soothe a little bit of his heart ache was to be near her, to hold her, to see her smile. That was the truth. Karumi couldn't take away all the hurt with her seductive kisses. She could only make him forget for a little while. The person he truly needed was Sakuno-chan and her happiness.

He needed to see her for one last time, even though he knew that it was downright selfish of him, but still….. he wanted to see her…..and say goodbye.

Getting up, Fuji padded out of his room as silently as possible. He did not want to wake Sakuno-chan's 'new boyfriend' in the bed next to his and kiss his chance of seeing Sakuno-chan goodbye.

His chances of seeing her were slim enough already knowing that there was also a huge probability that she would already be deep in slumber.

The time on his watch read eleven thirty. He just hoped that she would still be awake as he knocked lightly on her door. Each second of unanswered knocks on her room door lowered his flame of hope down by a notch and it was getting dimmer and dimmer.

"Anou…..i-is anyone there?" he heard her serene but scared chattery little voice and a true smile crept up his face.

"Hai. A ghost oni named Fuji."

"Fuji-sempai?" The door instantly swung open slowly. "You're up! I thought you were sleeping. I went to your room when I got to mine after the concert and found it locked. The cleaning personnel said that you told them to tell anyone looking for you that you were busy," she whispered, leading him inside.

"Saa, I was sort of busy and I guess Tezuka was too. Making people run laps certainly must zap the energy out of him. Maybe he made himself run his own laps," whispered back the tensai, looking over his buchou snoring in bed. (a/n: OMG. Tezuka snores. Kyaa! I am so evil for making him do that! It makes his way too cool and annoyingly stoic character go down by a notch. But it is sort of cute isn't it? : } ) "Waking him up would be rather precarious don't you think? Come, let's take a walk outside. I have something important to tell you."

Sakuno nodded her head in agreement and headed out of the door ahead of him. She was still in her sleeping clothes; a pink pair of shorts and a baby blue tank top so Fuji took the initiative to grab her a rob before following her out.

"Sakuno-chan is really forgetful sometimes," he teased her gingerly while he draped the rob around her shoulders. Looking up at him, Sakuno smiled, slid her arm around his and then leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you."

Fuji's eyes widened slightly at the sudden gesture, but then warmed at the feel of her touch. How he wished that it would go on forever like this as they walked together outside of the hotel lobby towards the lush garden.

"Ne, Sakuno-chan, do you remember this place?"

"Of course! How could I forget? This is the sakura tree you slept under during the preconcert carnival. Mmmmmmmm, the sakura blossoms smell so nice!"

Giggling in delight, the auburn head woman slipped away from his side heading towards a low lying branch short enough for her to reach. When she returned, she gleefully held a clump of tiny pink blossoms in her left hand while her right hand was curled tightly into a ball.

"Here, I brought this for you." she proclaimed, opening her right hand to show a single blossom in full bloom. Her ruby lips stretched out in a perfect smile, her doe-like eyes sparkled, and her tumbling auburn locks fell around her shoulders making her look like a goddess whilst the pale moon light danced on her flawless skin and illuminated its porcelain white hue.

So captivating. So enchanting. So tantalizing.

Fuji couldn't resist from tenderly caressing her cheek. Kami, the urge to kiss her was so strong that he found himself inching closer and closer. Now they were so close. Fuji could swear he could smell the sweet scent of her breathe.

"Arigatou de gozaimashita…" he managed to pull away from her innocent but captivating charm, stopping a mistake that could have destroyed the friendship they had for all eternity.

Who knows what might have happened had he really kissed her. He didn't want Sakuno-chan avoiding him, much more hating him for the rest of their lives. Taking the blossom from her hand, the tensai carefully tucked it away in his pocket.

"I will treasure it forever. You really like it here, don't you?"

"Hai. I simply love the sakura blossoms!" she smiled at him.

"I'm glad you're happy here Sakuno-chan. So please be happy even with the things that I have to say alright?"

Sakuno's smile faded and her joyous demeanor turned into a no-nonsense serious one. She followed Fuji and sat down next to him underneath the tree, ready to listen to what he had to say.

Fuji noticed the change in her mood and a frown creased his face. It was quickly hidden by his trademark smile. He didn't want the girl to see him frown.

"Saa, I thought that you loved sakura petals dear kouhai. Should I go climb and get some fully blooming ones at the top to make you smile again?"

"Iie, Fuji-sempai. Noborimasen kudasai. You don't have to do something so dangerous. I'm already happy being with you. I just feel unsettled whenever you have a problem that's all," said Sakuno, grasping his hand in hers to stop him from what he was about to do.

"But—"

"Please sempai. I don't like seeing you like this."

Sighing in defeat, Fuji leaned on the trunk. He gave up. He didn't want to see her worried. He would have to tell her goodbye even if she didn't like it. Besides, she had a right to know and there was no other time to tell her.

"Alright, alright. Sakuno-chan, the reason why I asked you to come out with me at this time of night was because I wanted to tell something important. I wanted to say goodbye, Saku-chan. Tomorrow I will be returning to Seishun to see my outosan in the hospital. He had a heart-attack recently. I have to set off first thing in the morning. I'm so sorry that I won't be able to keep my promise to watch over you anymore." He told her.

"Oji-san was hospitalized? Oh, kami, no wonder you were so anxious today! Is he going to be alright?"

"Hai, he will be. But he isn't the cause of my anxiety and my restlessness Sakuno-chan."

The auburn head turned to face him in confusion.

"Huh? But he's your father, you should be worried so much about him," she argued, her face dotted with worry and question marks all over. "Shouldn't you?"

"I am anxious and sad for what had happened but there are things that make me even sadder Sakuno-chan."

"Like what sempai? Did you have a fight with Oji-san? Or with Yuuta-sempai maybe? Did you lose something important? Sempai, please, don't hide your sorrows away from me. It pains me when you do."

Fuji's look became distant as he looked up at the twinkling stars and Sakuno felt a cold saddened aura seeping from him, adding to her concern for him.

"Losing someone special," was his quiet answer.

"Is it- is it a, a woman?"

"Hai, I special someone I love."

Sakuno was caught off guard. Hearing that Fuji-sempai had someone that he loved romantically came as quite a shock to her which she presumed must have brought a sinking feeling in her chest that made her heart feel so heavy all of the sudden.

"I love her so much and I want to be with her always. But I never realized that I was in love with her until someone made me see that I was. When I finally saw the truth she had been taken away by another man. Still I am glad she is happy in his arms,"

"But what about your happiness sempai? You deserve to be happy too. I'm sure that woman likes you. I mean, you're such a special person, why wouldn't she want to be with you?" she retorted, touching her eye for a bit.

Wait a moment. Why was her eye wet? She was crying. But why? How come she didn't feel it at all? Grabbing the hem of her robe Sakuno hurriedly wiped the tears away before Fuji-sempai could find out.

Good thing he was still looking at the stars. She would've been caught crying for no reason at all.

It was a mystery to her, the sinking feeling, the crying. A mystery she should apparently solve later. Right now she had to cheer her sempai up.

"As long as she's smiling it doesn't matter to me. Saa, it's almost twelve now. Come on, it's time to go now Sakuno-chan. Your Ryoma-kun might strangle me for taking his girlfriend out on a midnight walk late at night. He still is the jealous type after all.'

"Sempai, Ryoma-kun isn't my real boyfriend!" she pouted in a cute protest as she got up.

"It's only for show that's all," she explained on their way back. " Our relationship isn't real. Our managers just made it under contract. It really isn't real."

"It isn't real….yet. That's if all the amorous blabbering of Echizen asking you to become his REAL girlfriend in his sleep were true and were not merely a faction of his imagination," shrugged Fuji.

Even with that grin on his face, Sakuno could clearly tell that the tensai wanted to hear what she would answer Ryoma-kun. It was even clearer that he would be persistent about it until he got the answer, which was peculiarly odd, since he always used to give her some space when she didn't want to talk about things. But Fuji-sempai was always so hard to understand, so she guessed that it was probably nothing. She would just tell him.

"Anou, I don't really know what to say to him," she answered nervously as they reached her room.

They bid each other goodnight but just as Sakuno was about to enter the room, her sempai grasped her hand. A surging feeling rushed through her when he leaned over her, brushed away her bangs and softly planted a kiss on her forehead. The feel of his lips and its moisture on her skin lingered for a moment and somehow she could hear the thudding of her heart in her chest.

"Sayonara, Sakuno-chan. I guess we won't be seeing each other anymore. Take care and don't worry about anything. Echizen will take care of you now. I already told Sumire-chan about it. Just tell Echizen what you truly feel for him. Continue being happy for me."

"Take care too sempai. But I won't say goodbye just yet, I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon, I swear. P.S. I'll miss you while you're gone."

" Alright then. Oyasumi nasai again."

"Oyasumi nasai."

The auburn head shut the door behind her slowly. Touching her forehead, she felt the heat rising up her cheeks.

"Fuji-sempai,"

The clock in the room chimed in the air of night , ringing through her mind as she flopped into the bed. It was exactly twelve midnight.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

Japanese Terms

Hai –yes

Hoi –hey

Arigatou – thank you

Ima to agete – open the door right now

Ochibi – Eiji's nickname for Echizen meaning child.

Matte –wait

Kuso – damn

Dakara – but

Gomenne – I'm sorry

Daijoubo ka? – are you alright

Daijoubo – I'm alright. I'm fine

Betsuni – nothing

Oyasumi nasai – goodnight

Okaasan – mother

Outosan – father

Ojisan – uncle

Obaachan –grandmother

Magochan - grandchild

Maa maa – now, now

Nanika – what

Ahou – idiot

Baka – similar to ahou. Fool, idiot.

Noborimasen kudasai – please don't climb up there.

Iie - no

Oni – monster

Kouhai – junior

Sempai – senior

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**A/N:** Konnichiwa minna-san! So this is chapter seven. Hoped you liked it. I'm sorry if it seems that things are taking different turns. You guys don't have to worry though. Everything will work out in the end, I promise.

Ne, Silverdoe-chan, huwag kang mag-aalala. Ayaw na ayaw ko talaga si Karumi at para sa akin hindi siya dapat magsama sa ating tennis tensai. Diba? Mas gusto ko nga si Sakuno-chan. Mahal ko naman sina Fuji at Ryoma, ngunit mas mahal ko naman si Fuji. Biased kasi ako, hehehehe. ^_^

Well, Silver-chan I hope my Filipino didn't get all mixed up. I'm not really good at it, or at Cebuano either. ( I'm from Cebu. What region are you from? You must be a Tagalog I presume. ) My parents didn't train me that well in those languages, so pardon if I got them a bit wrong. Woah. You really don't know what it feels like to fail on the subject that teaches you your own language. I do, and it's horrible. I got an 80, and our passing is 85. Yeah. Really horrible. .

Well, coming up next chapter eight. See you guys! Ja.


	8. Fate

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: I definitely own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. Owning them is Konomi-sensei's job. Mine is manipulating them in this story.

Chapter 8

Fate

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Sakuno's dream was very, very strange. Weirder than she could possibly imagine.

I mean, how in the world did the pokerfaced Tezuka Kunimitsu ever wind up in her dream? And what was Inui-sempia doing with that pitcher filled with foul-smelling maroon colored bubbly liquid behind him?

They were whispering as they hovered above her in her dream. They were so close to her, she could hear all that was being conspired against her. Conspiracy of the worst kind imaginable in the history of dreamtopian conspiracy, Sakuno could even swear seeing ghastly horns sprouting up their heads and fangs bloodily stretching out of their mouths as they cackled evilly.

"I'm sure she'll get up when she gets a whiff and a gulp of my latest Aozu."

Aozu?

Wake up Sakuno, wake up!

You do not want to turn into a dead lab rat reeking of aozu stench all over.

WAKE UP!

"Kyaaaaa!! I don't want to die young!"

She jumped right out of bed, gasping for breath.

"Thank Kami, it was all a dream. I don't really have to drink that horrible concoction," she sighed wiping her forehead in joyous relief. But lo, who was she to behold standing next to her but Tezuka-sempai, Inui-sempai, and……shudder……shudder………Aouzu?!

"Who said that it was a dream Ryuuzaki-san? We were planning to splash my latest mixture on you if you didn't wake up sooner than you did. That's too bad. You really would have dropped dead for more and more once you could taste it. Why don't you try some anyway, even though you're awake? Here," offered Inui, his eyeglasses gleaming and his eyebrows wiggling as he shoved the glass in front of her face. "It's scrumptious. Try it."

"Kyaaa!!! I still don't want to die young!!" she screamed, scrambling away for her life. She was so scared. Her feet were practically kicking so fast that she could feel herself being lifted a foot above the floor. Problem was……..it wasn't taking her anywhere at all.

"Ryuuzaki, you do not go running outside only in a pair of shorts and a tack top only. You only go running like that when I tell you so. If you do run when I put you down, I will let you drink Inui juice and run laps around the hotel, understand? Now change and catch up with us at the sushi shop," commanded the ex-buchou sternly, his icy voice digging into the cerebral part of her brain as he set her down on the floor. Though his expression was blank and pokerfaced Sakuno could tell perfectly that Tezuka would make her drink it if he could. She knew better than to disobey him and take a single step out and put her life in danger.

" We'll be down there ordering. By the way Ryuuzaki, some lavender haired girl asked me to hand this to you."

She was handed a white sheet of paper and was left by Tezuka and a disappointedly glum Inui who looked like he had blown up his own version of the Mona Lisa in juice form.

In the paper was the sort of haphazardly written words that looked like incoherent worms wriggling around on paper. It was definitely written in a hurry but with a little perseverance Ryuuzaki Sakuno managed to decipher it. It read:

_Dear Sakuno-chan,_

_I can't write that much because I really am in a hurry. I know that this in such a short notice but I hope you understand. This is a one in a million chance that I need to take, because it means everything to me. I'll be gone for a while , but don't worry I'll be back in a few days or so, a week tops, probably. Anyhow, I called to tell the paparazzi and all the other productions, studios and commercial managers that you'll be taking a break for a while, so just sit tight this week and enjoy, Nadeshiko Maaya without a doubt can handle just one teeny-weeny week without a manager. _

_This break should also give you a whole lot of time to snuggle up to Echizen and get all lovey-dovey with your man, if you know what I mean. I'll help give you advice and tips when I get back. Meanwhile, you two go out on dates and have all the fun that you can._

_Hugs and kisses,_

_Karumi-chan_

Waving her hand in the air, the singer sighed heavily.

"What is Karumi-chan up to now?" she muttered, folding the letter into three, putting it down and then replaced it with a towel.

"She must feel guilty for making the contract so she decided to run away. Ahhhh…….silly Karumi. She really didn't have to leave. I'm not mad at her, she's my bestfriend after all." Sakuno shook her head. "Well, there's no use in stopping my silly little manager any longer. She must be gone by now."

Speaking of gone, somehow she could recall something……no, someone rather associated with that word, aside from Karumi, as she scrapped her aozu traumatized mind for a recollection.

Sakuno turned on the shower and let the cold awakening droplets pelt on her skin, somewhat hoping that they could trickle back to her the lost memory.

In the end after a few more splashes on the face, she still didn't get all that lucky. She couldn't remember anything about last night at all except the recent trauma of being threatened to force down that horrid concoction appearing in her dreams and her early morning reality. Hitting her head didn't do any good either. The noise of the cascading water was heavy as she tried her hardest to remember, but it wasn't heavy enough to muffle out every other sound, including the sound of someone barging into the room outside the shower, calling her name.

By the sound of his voice, Sakuno knew that it was Ryoma-kun calling her.

"Ryuuzaki, hurry up and finish showering. You might miss breakfast and I can't have that happening to the woman I love. Fuji told me to take care of you, you know, so you better hurry up in there."

That's it! Fuji-sempai was the one leaving today, at last she finally remembered. How could she forget? She had planned to see him off and say goodbye for crying out loud!

Changing as fast as she could, Sakuno raced out of the shower. Fuji sempai might have gone already!

"Ryoma-kun, where's Fuji-sempai?"

"Hn? He left, went to the airport I guess."

"What? No! I have to go. Please Ryoma-kun, tell the regulars that I'm sorry I can't have breakfast with all of you. I'll see what I can do about lunch. Don't worry I'll answer your question when I return. Ja," huffed Sakuno as fast as she could, then running as fast as she could before Ryoma could stop her.

Her feet took off like wings.

She ran so fast that she didn't pay any attention to the people around her and in front of her. If the person she came tumbling upon a few seconds later was a nice old lady who would easily let her off, Sakuno could have gone giving nothing more than apologies and helping her up. Too bad for her though it wasn't an old lady. She…err…no he rather….was too large, well built, and hissy to be an old lady. Oooopps. Kaidoh-sempai was no lady both in body and in manners.

And he did NOT like being toppled down, especially when he was cradling his cat.

"Neko-chan, fsssh, neko-chan, where did you go? Fsssshhh, this is all your fault you stupid girl! I lost my cat because of you! Fsssh! You're going to pay for this, you little twerp!"

Before she knew it, Sakuno was back on her feet running again. The only difference was that this time while she was darting on, there was a hissy sempai chasing after her.

"Taxi, taxi!" she hailed.

"Hey, don't you –"

Screech, badump and there. Thank goodness the taxi came in the nick of time.

"Fsssh! Come back here!"

"I'm sorry Kaidoh-sempai! I really didn't mean to bump into you!" she apologized, rolling the car window as the engine started. " I need to go now sempai. Anou, by the way, what is that cat doing up your head?"

She was giggling as the taxi sped off, looking back at her animal loving sempai coo….er… I mean hiss the kitten back to sleep as gently as he could. ( A/N: Huh? XD )

"Sumimasen miss? Where to?"

"The airport please, as quickly as you can. Use any means possible, I have more than enough to surmount any price you wish to be paid, just hurry. I need to see someone special there." She requested.

The drive to the airport was a long one, but it gave as much time as possible for Sakuno-chan to drop all her thoughts about this morning and start thinking about the things that really mattered the most.

Like Fuji sempai. Like last night.

Beneath his smiles, she felt sorrow and disappointment thriving inside of him. Truth was, she was supposed to tell the brunette about Ryoma-kun's proposal and about how she felt stronger than her usual self. She wanted to tell him that she no longer felt the blushy, stuttery self hanging around her when she had the escapade with Ryoma-kun and she wanted the brunette to be happy with her. She went to his room skipping and seeing that he wasn't around and didn't want to be disturbed, , she deliberately stayed up and waited for him.

But when he came to her room with a cracking mask that failed to hide his downhearted feeling , she just couldn't bring the topic out. He came to her looking so crushed and it worsened when they started chatting about his leaving and his girl troubles, all the more when they came to the Ryoma-kun boyfriend subject.

She just couldn't let him leave yet for two reasons.

Firstly, she needed to know he was going to be alright before he flew off. Secondly, she really didn't understand why……but she just had this feeling that she wanted to see him. Like her heart was looking for him.

"Well, here you are miss. Hokkaido International Airport. That'll be ¥ 1000. Good luck in finding him."

"Here you go then. Thank you very much. I think I'll need all the luck I can get with all these people."

Sakuno began her frantic search, streaming in and out of the crowd of travelers in search of the brunette tensai she still could not find. After a few unsuccessful attempts, no tensai appeared yet and her feet began to cramp.

What if she missed him? What if she came too late? What if he left already?

"Excuse me miss, could you please tell me if a Fuji Syuusuke has already boarded his plane?" she approached the counter with her last straw of hope.

"What flight is he boarding?"

"Ummm…..I don't really know. He didn't tell me."

"Oh, then it will take some time then. Just wait for a few minutes over there, in that seat."

Click, click, clickety click went the personnel over her computer. Click, click, clickety click. Click, click, clickety click. Sakuno was beginning to worry all the more and the more anxious she would feel at the tick of a click. Click, click, clickety click. Click, click, -

"Anou, he's boarding flight 101 that was supposed to take off an hour ago, but it was delayed. I think he's over there in the passenger waiting area." The lady pointed to a place. "Oh my, oh my, is that him? You're boyfriend's a looker. Quite the catch. Go on over to him, hurry before he gets called for his flight."

A warm bubbly feeling enveloped Sakuno's chest as she stood up, avoided the unwanted comment from the personnel to see her sempai standing right where the lady pointed.

She walked quickly towards him, her pace picking up speed amidst the inexplicable pounding of her heart. Out of instinct her arms lifted themselves up and ready to reach out and encircle him in an embrace. She had already reached a four meter distance of him and was going to call out his name.

The scene these two were supposed to make was supposed to be like those cliché romance episodes where boy-who-went-off-to-war-or-who-knows-and-even-cares-where comes back home and girl greets him with a flying embrace and then they do the kissing scene, except that in this case, the kissing scene is ripped off the film and they have a bff relationship, and not a bf-gf one. Okay, so it actually would be a bff scene and not a romance scene, who cares? It never came real in the end anyway, so there's no use in arguing about a scene that will never exist.

Though it would have existed though, had not a certain someone appeared and embraced Fuji instead of Sakuno. Had she not canoodled him and pecked his lips with a kiss. Had she not called him 'Syuusuke' so intimately. Had she not done it all in front of her. Most of all — had she not been the person Sakuno-chan knew to be her female bff and manager, Sakamoto Karumi.

Sakuno's feet came to a halt just three maters away from them and her arms fell down to her sides. She felt frozen and the thudding in her chest stopped to be replaced by that strange, cold, sinking feeling that overwhelmed her.

Her desire to see him suddenly vanished and instead she wanted to get as far away as possible before he could spot her. Far, far away.

"Flight 101 now ready to board. Sorry for the inconvenience. I repeat, flight 101 for Kansai Airport now ready to board."

Slowly, the torn Sakuno turned around and walked away. So Karumi-chan was the one her sempai had been talking about. It was funny why she felt like crying when she should be happy for both of them. She couldn't understand why instead of wanting to walk over and congratulate them, her heart wanted her to walk away. And somehow, even if her mind told her not to, she followed her heart.

"Don't cry sweetie! If he chose her over you, he must be an idiot who doesn't know what he's missing. He may be handsome, but the guy had no taste at all in choosing her. You're way too gorgeous anyway for the likes of unfaithful men like him, so go on and forget him!' sympathized the personnel that had helped her earlier. She handed her a box of tissues and gave her a comforting smile. "I know what it feels like to lose a boyfriend the way you did, so I understand. I know it hurts. But I can see that you're strong and beautiful, and I know that you can get over him, just like I did mine."

"A-anou, a-arigatou, ….d-demo…" Sakuno sniffled, "H-he's not my boyfriend. The woman with him was the real one he loved. I'm just a friend."

"Making excuses doesn't help you know. I've tried it before and it doesn't work. It only makes it worse. Just go on with your life, be a fighter!" the personnel chided her, moving out of the counter and dragging the teary-eyed woman to the comfort room. "Now wash those tear drops away and be strong!"

"But- "

"Be STRONG!"

"Anou, alright," Sakuno turned on the faucet and splashed away all her tears but still th cool water on her face didn't make any difference with what she was feeling.

"It doesn't help, I'm sorry. I think it will help though if I leave. Like you said, I need to move on, right?" she whiffed. She really needed to get this woman off her back right now. It seemed that the personnel woman was clawing her down too much to her liking already and she had had enough of her 'sympathy'. "I have to get back to Ryoma-kun and give him an answer."

With that Sakuno walked away still having that strange feeling running through her while the faded voice of the woman echoed in her mind telling her to be strong.

But what does strong actually mean to Sakuno? Was it trying to understand what was going on with her emotions even though they could be at times confusing and hurting, …..or…..saying 'yes' when her heart was telling her to say 'no' to Ryoma-kun? One would hurt her a lot and the other would only help her forget about the unexplained feelings. The question was, which one would she choose?

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"Mou, I really missed you, my musume and my musuko-tachi," winced the pale and weak Fuji Okinawa, straining to sit up over the crumpled sheets of the hospital bed where he was confined but then deftly leaned back in the comfort of hid pillow when he found that he was too tired to sit up. "I'm so glad that you all came to see me when you are all so busy nowadays. It's been such a long time, ne, my children?"

"Father, we're so glad to see you too!" cried Yumiko, throwing her arms around the old man, careful enough to not choke her father to death.

"Hehehe, I still see no change in you, Yumi-chan. Still the 'Daddy's girl' you were last time you visited the office. Well, boys, why don't you join the hugging spree? Oh, but I can no longer call you handsome young ones my akatachi, sou ka? It's alright if you don't then. Just pull a chair and sit next to the bed. I've missed you all so much," beamed the older Fuji.

Following that was a fit of sputtering coughs from him. He had choked on something and caught it in his throat. His cough was rough and ragged sending the room into panic.

His daughter frantically patted his back while searching for any med pills of use inside the nightstand drawer while the two brothers ran out the hallway to call for help.

After dragging an entire medical team into the room, a look of relief came back to them all when they saw the patients breathing pattern slowly return to normal and the the medical team broke up and returned to other tasks.

"Outosan, you got us all so worried!" breathed Yumiko.

"Hai, that's right! You really should take it easy Tousan," added in Yuuuta, blushing at himself for showing too much of his concern by taking place of his Neesan in embracing their father.

The elder brother chuckled at his brother and continued teasing him by saying, "Yes, Father. See even the strict tennis coach Yuuta is becoming emotional. He even painted his face red for you."

"Aniki!"

"Ooops. I meant a lighter shade of red. Was it called pink?"

"Yuuta, Syuusuke, please yameru ima o!" commanded the eldest of the three. "our father just might have another heart attack. We are here to help outosan get well, not to kill him. So stop playing around!"

Grunting the two marched up to their seats and plopped down in unison, one still wearing a blush and the other a smile.

"Fine, of course" they chorused embarrassedly at their sister.

"Daijoubo, daijoubo, Yumi-chan. I miss their squabbles," retorted Okinawa, laughing at their antics. It had been a very long time since he had seen those two squabbling with each other, and that was when they were in kinder. They had been so cute to see back then.

"No, it's not alright. Father I already talked to the doctor and he said that the cause of your heart attack was too much stress. We can't have that happening again, now can we? You're working too hard for the company and you're stressing yourself out. This time it's our turn to help the company while you take a break. The doctor has recommended your immediate retirement for a full recovery. Now isn't a tie for jokes and pranks."

Okinawa's laughter ceased and vanished into thin air as the atmosphere around him subsided into a serious attitude that replaced his bubbly one.

After all the years of having to sleep late typing in his work, managing a huge company, attending boring meetings and attending equally dry and formal events that vanquished his simple lifestyle that usually composed his everyday, you would expect the old and sickly Fuji Okinawa to instantly jump up and down his bed in happiness of breaking away from the bondage of his everyday workload.

But instead of doing that, Okinawa sighed.

Don't get him wrong, he was happy, but somehow it was ultimately hard for him to feel the joy surge through him when he thought about the same burden that would be passed down to the heir of the company. He had always hoped that he would atleast protect his child from the burden of the company responsibilities until the day he died or until the day he had no more strength left in him.

And that day came too soon for his liking.

As if the heir had read what had been running through the older Fuji's mind, his crystal blue-eyed son took a bouquet of sunflowers from his bag and placed it next to his father.

"These sunflowers can help you take out your stress Outosan, but worrying wont. You don't have to worry about anything. I'm ready to do anything you want me to. I'm ready to take over the company."

" Demo, I don't think you're ready yet Syuusuke-kun. You still have much to accomplish in life before being imprisoned with drowning company affairs. You've just turned twenty even!" he refused, shaking his head in disagreement. "I can manage the company on my own, so go on with your life a while. Let your Digital Shop in Tokyo flourish, find a wife seek out fulfillment, go around the world and when you're done, just tell me and I'll hand the company over to you."

Yumiko stood up from her seat and glared straight into her outosan's gray downcast eyes with an aura of opposition threading around her.

Naturally she wasn't like this at all, but she's a daddy's girl, and daddy's girls love their fathers too much.

"Yada! Syuusuke-kun is more than ready to handle this Outosan. The three of us discussed about this earlier and we all agreed on it already. Syuusuke is even willing to give up his digital business just for you!"

"But-"

Yumiko crossed her arms and put her foot down on the ground firmly, and all in the hospital room cowered in fear….except for Syuusuke of course. He wasn't afraid of anything unlike his father who had a whole lot of courage that always melted like potty whenever the situation was poor little courageous self vs. an extremely strong and persistent daughter with aozu in her hands, aozu Yumiko version.

Fuji Syuusuke loved drinking aozu, and he was glad Inui gave him the recipe, which he in turn gave to his Oneesan. "Hehehehe," the tensai chuckled. He was a sadist after all. Teaching his dear Oneesan how to mix up his beloved juice was just a part of the trade after all which sure came in handy in times like these.

"Wha-? You brought that thing with you here too Oneesan?" shivered Yuuta as he hid behind his smiling aniki.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures Yuuta-kun. Do you want Outosan to die? Ne, it seems that he wants to die young too by overworking himself and he doesn't want to see reason. Then this juice will make him see it!"

A single whiff of the bubbling gaseous liquid shoved right in between their Outosan's eyes quickly settled the matter. The papers were taken out for the pens to dance on and in the next few minutes the entire Aoi Yama group of companies was put under the leadership of its president's 20 year old son, Fuji Syuusuke. In a single moment all the burdens its former president used to bear were now laid down upon his young son.

The thing Fuji Okinawa always dreaded occurred all in a moment, and it was a moment that could not be undone……..that could never be undone. His signature was already there to attest to that.

"Waaaaah! Syuusuke-chi, are you sure that you want this?" worriedly cried the father as he handed his son the document papers.

"Hai."

Hearing that and seeing the determined strong look on his son's face eased him a little and he sighed.

"It really can't be helped then. You're already taking charge of the companies from now on. Gaaaaah….life is really full of surprises. I just hope that it doesn't surprise me again."

"Sumimasen, eto…..demo this woman over here would like to see you Fuji-san," rang out the nurse from the door, interrupting the family conference. Just then a cute, petite lavender haired woman popped right into the room, bowed down then frenched the new president in front of all of them with no shame in the least bit.

"Ehhhhhh! Who are you Miss, kissing my outouto like that out of the blue?!" screeched Yumiko.

" Yeah!" joined in Yuuta.

Their eyes were wide with surprise as they waited for an answer. They were even wider when the woman threw her arms around the tensai's neck and looked up at him like a seductive minx.

"You mean you didn't tell your family about us yet, Syuusuke koishi? Oh well, that's alright I'll introduce me myself then. Konnichiwa, Fuji-san tachi. I'm Sakamoto Karumi, Syuusuke koishi's darling girlfriend. It's such an honor to meet the family members of my future husband!" she turned to face them and bowed her head slightly. Smiling and giggling she then handed out her prepared gifts for them all, as if she was bribing them to accept her.

The three Fuji's dropped their jaws in shock and disgust. They couldn't even move to touch the neatly wrapped presents.

All that Fuji Okinawa could do was mutter under his breath. "What happened to Syuusuke-kun's real destiny? Why did life have to surprise me all over again?"

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"Eto, Inui-sempai, have you by any chance seen Echizen?"

"Iie, demo I think he was looking for Ryuuzaki-san which is rather strange since he already has a girlfriend. It's interesting, don't you think Momo? Data….."

"That sly dog! Then we should go spy on him. That bastard Echizen might still have hidden feelings for our little Ryuuzaki-chan. If that's so then it would be unfair for that brat to hog Maaya-chan and Ryuuzaki-chan. He should hand Maaya-chan to me if he wants Ryuuzaki-chan!" cackled Momoshiro, rubbing his hands together in glee.

The word spy especially caught the attention of the dataman next to him and his glasses sparkled evilly. _Spy? Did anyone just say spy? Master agent Inui is on it!_

"Wait just a while sempai, I'll go get my spy suit in the room. Mamushi should've better not messed with it, or else…"

_Spy suit for stalking? Oooohhh._

Scribble, scribble, scribble, went Sadaharu Inui on his notebook.

Data 1: Stalking Echizen was going to be more interesting from now on.

Scribble, scribble, scribble. Data 2: With time, Momo would certainly become a great spy man just like himself.

He just need a good teacher. Inui-sensei perhaps? It would be rather nice to have an apprentice around. Inui could imagine it right now, teaching an apprentice to be a happily and gratefully drowned in Aozu right alongside him. Aaaaaah, what a sight it would be indeed.

The dataman continued to jot down his data on his precious notebook until something struck him. His would-be apprentice was taking a rather long time to come back. Maybe the new Nature's Deluxe Aozu ( composed of olive oil, worms, bugs, sardines and cow dung A/N: Eeeeeew! . ) would teach Momo about tardiness.

Walking towards Momo and Kaidoh's shared room (A/N: If you recall, the y were all sharing rooms in Chapter 1. Echizen with Fuji, Oishi with Eiji, Kaidoh with Momo, Taka-san with Inui, and Tezuka with Ryuuzaki-sensei then later on with Sakuno-chan) Inui could hear a fight brawling inside.

Somehow Inui could sense their fight wasn't one of their ordinary ones.

He could hear Momo's shrieks and shouts for help and.…….meowing? Inui barged into the room to find the real source of the meowing.

No Kaidoh, wasn't the one meowing. He hadn't turned into a cat. Iie, data…..he had an army of felines pouncing and attacking Momo, while he, their ring leader hissed them on.

"Fsssh, Fsssh, gambareyo, neko tachi! Tear that useless baka and his stupid suit into bits!" he snarled gleefully.

And well if that wasn't enough to weirden you out then check this. Not only did Kaidoh hiss/cheer the cats on, Viperman also did it in style: the use-kittens-as-pom-poms-up-and-down-like-barbels style.

Even Inui was shocked to the core. He was so stunned that he dropped his notebook, his pen, and his glasses the moment he walked through the door.

"My data…..went wrong? This-this can't be true! How could it turn out this way? Data never lies. Kaidoh wasn't supposed to have a cheerleader side and data…..my apprentice has been ripped to pieces before his first lesson!" mourned Inui. He dropped down on his knees and his eyes turned into empty holes of white. Data, he really needed help with turning these two back to 'normal' as defined by his notes, if not, he really would go crazy. He might even get to the point where he would stop making aozu, the very essence of his life!

Crawling towards the door, Inui could hear footsteps and voices talking outside in the hall. Maybe they could help him, but first he had to listen in on them. These two passers-by sounded vaguely familiar and interesting.

"Ryuuzaki, where have you been? You made me wait an hour for you"

Data. The First voice belonged to Echizen, Inui was sure of that. The second….hmmm…..Echizen already mentioned her name. No need to elaborate further.

"Gomennasai, Ryoma-kun. I-I j-just had to somewhere important . I-I'm so sorry!"

" Mada mada dane, Ryuuzaki. Stop acting so sad and gloomy. I'm not angry or anything."

"Eto, hai, Ryoma-kun. But honestly, I'm not sad….it's just…..it's just hai Ryoma-kun. My answer is hai, I will be, for real."

"Hn, finally. Well then, let's go get some breakfast. I'm hungry."

That was the end of their conversation for they had walked away and Inui could hear no more.

"Huh?! Wait, I was supposed to ask for help! Don't leave me here! Data, I really should quit eavesdropping."

"Inui-sempai, you don't need any help, you don't need any data, nyeow. All you need to do is join the cat army group nyeow," groaned a voice while a furry distorted hand grabbed Inui's leg. Inui turned around to find Mom turned into a shredded zombie with cat ears sprouting as he pulled Inui away from the door and towards the army of cats waiting for their next victim.

"Become catnip, become catnip, Inui-sempai, become catnip, Sempai will become catnip,"

"Help me!!!!!!"

Meanwhile, down the hall…..

"Anou, did you just hear anything Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno looked back.

"Nannimo."

"Ah. Alright. Let's go."

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Pushing the door ajar, Ryuuzaki Shino stepped into the bland, lifeless, white hospital room to find his long time buddy sitting up on his bed looking just like the hospital room, just as a patient ought to be. He didn't expect the man to look young and radiant, his bestfriend had just gone through a heart attack after all.

Shino bowed his head in greeting and pulled a chair next to his bed.

"You look like you've just had a press conference with my mother, Okinawa," he teased, handing him a bouquet. "I hope you get well."

"If I accidentally crossed paths with your Okaasan, then I don't think I would, but I didn't get to meet her again, so no worries," laughed Okinawa. " Thanks for coming to visit by the way, and for the flowers too. The nurses told me yesterday that you can bu I think I was sleeping then. I'm sorry for being such an inconvenience."

"It's alright, you don't need to apologize. We're friends after all. Eto, by the way, just a moment ago I walked by your youngest son. He looks just like his aniki, don't you think? He was with a cute lavender-haired girl too. His girlfriend perhaps? I just hope that they will be as perfect a couple as his aniki and my daughter. The wedding preparations are well on their way already you know."

The brunette seated on bed sighed and closed his eyes. He hoped that Shino would take this news well, though the odds were he wouldn't. Anyway, here goes.

"The young man you met was the aniki, my eldest son, and you were right about the woman. She is a girl I do not approve of."

Fuji Okinawa opened his eyes and instead of receiving a shocked wide-eyed look, he got a light pat on his shoulder.

"Daijoubo, daijoubo. I understand your feelings as well, because my daughter also has a boyfriend who I do not approve of either."

"What?! She too? But, our children in a few weeks time will be married as planned. These two are giving us more problems than we wish! The wedding has to be on that exact day of long ago and not a day more or less. How are we supposed to make that happen when those two are entangling themselves in other relationships? Shino, what if they're in love with other people?"

"They aren't."

"And how are you so sure of that? I'm not even sure about the exact feelings of my own son!" he retorted back, stinging at the recollection of the whorish woman wrapping herself around his son.

Calmly Shino answered him in a sure and steady voice, "Because I believe in fate, fate that binds your son and my daughter together. Fate that will make two as one. Fate they were meant for each other. I've believed in that ever since that day. Those relationships with other people are just lies and facades. I remember now, seeing a hint of unhappiness in your son's eyes and I know that he is lying. He doesn't love her, his girlfriend. She is imperfect, she is not the one for him and he knows it. Are you happy seeing your son in the arms of someone he doesn't love? Fate decreed on that day that he would love only my daughter, and my daughter he. Fate is perfect. They will be a perfect couple don't you see that? That was the reason why we promised to have them married."

"Of course, of course. I'm sorry for doubting, it's just the shock of how fast everything is going and all. One day you have a heart attack, the next you hand over your company to a son you plan to have married who suddenly declares he has another girlfriend. Kami what should we do to make our children see what they have if they keep this up?"

Getting up out of his seat, Shino walked towards the other end of the room and Okinawa watched him slide the glass window open to let fresh air fly in with bits of leaves.

"Fate is like the leaves in the air, sometimes it needs a little shove, don't you think?"

"Hai."

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Japanese Terms

Ja – goodbye

Neko-chan – cat

Neko-tachi - cats

Arigatou – thank you

Demo – but

Musume – daughter

Musuko-tachi – sons

Akatachi – babies

Outosan – father

Okaasan – mother

Oneesan – older sister

Outoto – younger brother

Aniki – brother, older

Sumimasen – excuse me

Aoi Yama – blue mountain

Koishi - darling

Yada – no

Iie – no

Hai – yes

Yameru – stop

Ima o – now

Daijoubo – it's alright

Kami – God

Gomennasai – I'm sorry

Mada mada dane – Echizen's favorite catch phrase, literally meaning not quite there yet

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**A/N: **Hello Minna! This is chapter eight! I hope it's alright…..I really suck sometimes. I guess I just didn't delve that much into this chappie….sorry.

Anyway, I hope you like it guys. If it's crap just tell me. It's okay.

I don't mind, I enjoyed writing this chappie a lot. I think I like over exaggerating things sometimes, especially the weaknesses of the regulars. They make me want to roll around and laugh a lot.

Oh yeah, has anyone read the new prince of tennis manga yet? It's really cool, but I was kind of wishing for Ryoma to be a little bit older. He's still 12 I guess in the manga, but hey, I still love it. Hope there'll be Ryosaku! I am a fujisaku lover but I love Ryosaku too, and they're cannon. Ryosaku forever!

Chapter 9 coming up! Just wait for a week or two kay? Yeah.

So this is Ja. See you guys next time! ^_^


	9. Plan in Action

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of tennis or any of its characters because if I did, I would be married to Fuji right now. Wahahaha. You would be hearing wedding bells if I owned P.O.T. but I don't, so all you can hear is the cocky Echizen's mada mada dane and no wedding noise at all. .

**a/n: please be reminded to read and review minna!**

**Chapter Nine**

**Plan in Action**

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Putting a hand over his mouth as he let a yawn escape, Fuji Syuusuke couldn't help but agree to what his father had said about company life. It was boring. Aside from doubling company profits and occasionally torturing his employees with his sadism, the tensai found his life unamusing.

It was only the third day since he had begun managing the Aoi Yama even, the third day he had to climb up the stairs of the company building before he reached he could reach the door and the third day he was stopped from entering the building by a call from his cellphone. It was also the third day he had to find out that Karumi was the one calling and not Sakuno-chan.

"Moshimoshi?"

"Ohayou koishi! Ogenki desu ka? You didn't come to visit my new apartment yesterday. I just moved in, remember? And you didn't even answer my calls, not even once. You're making me worried koisshii," he heard the shrill voice of his so-called girlfriend over the line and shook his head.

"I'm sorry Karumi-chan, I was very busy so I couldn't drop by yesterday. I had to stay late in the office," lied Fuji. Truth was, he had gone home early and purposely shut both his landline phone and cellphone off, but he couldn't tell her that now could he? "You really shouldn't worry about me too much. I'm fine."

"That's good to hear, koishii. I'm glad you're alright . Eto koishii, are you busy this afternoon? Why don't I come over so we can go out on a date?"

"Saa Karumi-chan, gomene, demo I'm sort of busy right now," he lied again. Technically, it wasn't a lie seeing that his employees on the ground floor were all abuzz flying everywhere as if there were some great event about to happen but it was a lie nonetheless, considering he just wanted to avoid the lavender head.

After he gave in to her whims and let her start calling him her boyfriend, Karumi forced the tensai out on their first 'date' just right after his first day in charge of the company offices and kami, he still hadn't forgotten about it.

_Flashback * * * * * * * * Flashback * * * * * * * Flashback_

"_Koisshii konnichiwa!"_

_Fuji had just stepped out of the glass doors of the building, then bang, something, or someone rather toppled him to the ground and kissed him fully on the lips._

"_Ne, so how was your first day? Syuusuke-koi?" that someone happily asked the brunnete as she cuddled him on the floor in front of all his leaving employees._

"_Karumi-chan, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be looking for a new apartment to stay in? Saa, it's not good to stay in a hotel room you know, and I can't let you stay over at my place."_

"_Ne, I came to see how my darling is doing," she answered coyly. With that she pecked him again on the lips and smiled sheepishly, Brushing her off him, Fuji stood up and opened his eyes, revealing an annoyed expression in his cerulean blue orbs. "Karumi-chan, didn't I tell you to not kiss me just anywhere anytime you want? My employees might get the wrong idea about you, saa," he tried to explain as gently as he could, though he felt rather annoyed and pestered._

_Karumi didn't seem to understand though. Instead asking for an apology, the lavender head got to her feet then wrapped her arms around Fuji's arms without any hesitation at all. _

"_Well, it's because I like kissing you all the time koishii. I love you every much and I want you to be happy and forget about everything. There's no use in being so sad when I'm around to kiss all your troubles away, right? Besides boyfriends and girlfriends have to have more intimacy to deepen their relationship." _

_Fuji rubbed his aching temple in dismay. Karumi really was very hardheaded sometimes. Even though she was being hardheaded for his sake, it really did trouble the new president of the Aoi Yama, but what could he do? Her head was a rock._

"_Ah! I know koishii! Come on, let's go!" _

_Suddenly Fuji found himself being pulled down the stairs and onto the sidewalk with his 'girlfriend leading the way._

"_Saa, where are you taking me Karumi-chan?"_

"_Out on our first date of course!"_

_Dinner wasn't that bad except that instead of getting him wasabi like he asked her to, Karumi ordered lobster. After that, the date turned into a downhill spiral._

_It was a disaster for Fuji._

_Karumi took him to one of those chick-flick movies where the leading lady's brown doe-like eyes reminded him of Sakuno-chan so much that his thoughts were all on his kouhai throughout the entire film. What was worse the ending scene was just like Fuji's midnight escapade with Sakuno where the leading lady and her leading man talked under a sakura tree and then started kissing. The scene made the tensai start daydreaming about doing the same thing with Sakuno. He dreamed that on that midnight walk instead of saying goodbye he cupped her chin and trapped her in a feverish kiss but when he woke up and opened his eyes he found that he was still in the movie house and that the one he was frenching was actually Karumi who looked like she was about to melt while she moaned loudly. _

_Then, after the movie, she took the tensai to a CD shop packed with people trying to get the latest Nadeshiko Maay CD. Posters of the said singer were everywhere, and one of them had the picture of her in the album titled "I love you" which suddenly took over Fuji's mind still filled with Sakuno-chan scenes. His mind wandered off in his little dream world mixed with love and hurt, and in his confusion, the brunette muttered out an 'I love you too'. Karumi heard it, though that he meant her and toppled him down in front of the entire crowd locking him in a kiss while unbuttoning his shirt shamelessly. It took a rather long time for the tensai to get her to stop. _

_When he finally got home, Fuji ended up with an aching head, aching lips (special thanks to Karumi) and a heart still aching for his beloved Sakuno-chan._

_END OF FLASH BACK * * * * * * *END OF FLASHBACK_

After that day, Fuji had finally learned his lesson. 'Dates' were bad when they were with Karumi. Never give in to her whims without thinking about it thoroughly, or else her kisses wont help you forget, they'll help you remember more.

"Ah, but koishii I miss you so much!" he heard her whine in complaint. "Please…."

Don't give into her, don't give in…….."Please, koishii, I really miss you.."

"Saa I'll try to see, demo I'm not quite sure about it yet."

_Urgh! I should have given her a downright no! Damn sympathy! _

Before he could hear the squeals of delight from the speaker, Fuji snapped his phone shut.

"Oh well, I might as well say no to her later," he sighed to himself.

Hmmmm, it was really noisy in the ground floor. He could even hear the ruckus from outside. Silently, he entered the building and used the current commotion among the office workers to walk up to the department supervisor unnoticed.

"Saa, Yukibo-san, I think it would be wise for you to stop staring at Kurosaki-san and settle whatever's going on. You might find yourself staring into a glass Aozu instead," he smirked mischievously as he whispered into the supervisor's ear from behind.

"Aaaaah!" screamed the poor little supervisor, jumping five feet into the air and then turning around looking like she'd seen a ghost instead of her superior standing right in front of her.

"Gomene Fuji-sama, I –"

"Saa, I take that as a yes then. One word of advice for you Yukibo-san: try talking to him instead of merely watching. It really does the trick. Now you should get back to supervising ne? The ground floor team seems to be a little crowded and a bit constipated. They can't face our customers like that, now can they?"

Fuji walked away wearing his usual sadistic smile. Aaaaaahhh…..nothing felt better after having a talk with Karumi than a moment to scare employees out of their wits. It was refreshin….demo, it wasn't enough. He still wanted to have some more fun with the people upstairs.

No wonder all the employees came to fear the name of Fuji Syuusuke only in three days time.

Thinking about new ways to scare the life out of his secretary, Fuji entered the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. That was where his office was found. When the tensai finally reached the top floor, everything seemed quite normal unlike the ground floor. Outside in the lobby the guards were standing by their posts while at desk in the lobby was……no one? Where was his secretary?

"Hidoshita-san, Musashi-san," he called the two guards. "Where is secretary Takahatchi-san? Isn't she supposed to be here before I arrive? And what is this box doing here? Who took it out of my closet? Its personal, no one's supposed to touch it."

"Sir the secretary just went to the restroom. She'll be out in a few minutes. About the box sir, I have nothing to do with it, I swear," denied the first guard, Hidoshita who looked at the other guard as if he were the person to blame. "Ehh? It wasn't me either sir! I didn't touch anything in the room, I didn't even get in your office! Maybe it was one of those movers you hired sir. They took everything out of your office and must've included the box by mistake."

Fuji looked at the two in confusion.

"What movers? I didn't hire anyone."

"But sir, they came in here with your signature saying they were hired to move your things out of your office. They even had documents to prove they were real movers."

Picking up the box, Fuji raced hurriedly into the room to find….nothing. No desk, no sofa, books, computer, stat reports, nothing but an empty room with huge glass windows.

"Takahatchi-san! Good, you're finally here. Can you please explain the meaning of all this? Why is my office empty?"

"Eto, sir I just received a call earlier today with from the former president telling me that the company's main head quarters is to be moved, starting with your office," explained the secretary, pulling out several documents from her drawer pertaining to the legality of the move. After reading the papers, Fuji sank into a seat and ran his hand through the bangs of his light brown hair.

"Sou desu ka? Did my father really say so?"

"Yes he did sir. The move is official and final, and Fuji-san said that you are not to oppose to any of this. He said that you will understand later on, but as of now you should follow his instructions. He said that it is for your own good." answered Takahatchi.

"Ne, so when am I moving?"

"Today sir. The movers are now preparing your new office as we speak and another batch is going to do the transportation of the things in your house to your new home, though I think that it will take them some time to fully accomplish the task, considering how large your house must be."

"So if that's the case, where does my father intend for me to stay? In a hotel uptown?" Fuji raised an eyebrow in speculation.

There was really something fishy going on here and he would get to the bottom of things. Taking the file his secretary handed him, Fuji browsed through seeing pictures of the classy five star hotel and details about his stay, including the room number and all the other matters.

"Why here? Tsushima is 92 miles from the shores of Kitakysuhu. Is that where the company will be relocating? That's rather peculiar Takahatchi-san, because if I were my father I'd rather relocate in Tokyo or in Kyoto perhaps. It's more industrialized there, meaning it'd be easier for people to reach us. That would be a great advantage for the company."

"Iie sir" the secretary shook her head, handing him another set of files. "Headquarters won't be relocating in Tsushima sir. It's been decided that it will be put in 3489 Mitsuyaki St. in Tokyo where the Aoi Yama Tokyo branch is. Basically, once your office is set up there, the Tokyo branch will become headquarters. Your living arrangements have already been settled for you in Tokyo already. Your father just wants you to stay in Tsushima for about a week or so for a meeting with several company heads who want to join the Aoi Yama Group of Companies. Sir, I think you should go down now, your private jet is waiting to take you to Tsushima."

Fuji got up then picked up the files and the box together. Nodding at his guards, the brunette walked to the elevator with the two escorting him.

"Saa, thank you Takahatchi-san, for everything. This box means all the world to me and I don't want to separate from it even for a week. If you hadn't taken this out, it would've been in Tokyo right now. I'm so grateful for what you've done, I've decided to skip the wasabi punishment," he said, holding down the elevator doors open for a moment.

"Demo, how did you know it was me sir?" asked the woman in surprise.

Entering the elevator with the two guards escorting him inside, Fuji Syuusuke merely gave her a smile anda wave for goodbye.

"I have my ways," he answered gingerly, holing up the box for her to see. With that the tennis tensai watched as the guards returned to their stations and watched as the elevator doors closed in on him, shutting him in to ponder his thoughts alone as he clutched at the box tightly.

He really had made the secretary believe that he had no clue about what was going on earlier. Obviously his father was playing a big role in this scheme, but for what purpose? Well then, he'd have to act a little bit longer to have that answer. In any case, he would follow his outosan's directions. He really needed to get to the bottom of this and besides…..he felt that something was pulling him to Tsushima.

He needed to get there.

The sound of the beep indicated that the elevator had reached the ground floor and Fuji stepped out too busy engaged with his thoughts to bother noticing the smiles of his employees who were glad that the sadist was leaving nor did he notice his girlfriend arguing with the guards as he walked past.

He just walked on and on, as if a magnet were pulling him, until he reached the back of the building to enter the private jet waiting for him on the small airstrip just in between the forest and the company parking area.

Without a word further he watched silently as the jet took off, clutching more tightly on the box.

He would get to the bottom of this. Fuji swore he would.

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"What do you mean by 'I'm not allowed inside this building', you bird-brained guards? My boyfriend and soon to be fiancée Fuji Syuusuke owns this company and pays you your salary every month. Don't tell me that I'm not allowed inside!" hissed Karumi as she tried to push herself through the two guards that blocked the entrance. Boohoo, she didn't have the slightest possibility of succeeding. "Hey, are you two even listening? My boyfriend owns this place, he can send you tow out packing with a single snap of his fingers so why won't you let me in? Koishii is even expecting me; he must be waiting right now for us to go on our date so move aside! Syuusuke-koi and I need to see each other!"

Not a single frantic cry from Karumi was heeded. Try as she would, shoving through with every ounce of energy she had left in her was useless.

Dropping down on her knees in frustration she began to cry. Tears threatened to wet her skirt as she sobbed moodily.

"Please let me in! Why won't you let me in?"

"Because you're not allowed to get inside miss," answered one of the guards coolly. He was unaffected by the lavender head's watery display. Grabbing her by the shoulder, he dragged her down the steps roughly and set her down on the pavement. "Besides the company head office is now moving and so is Fuji Syuusuke-sama who gave strict orders to not let anyone by the name of Sakamoto Karumi inside."

"But —"

He didn't need another pleading session from the girl, so, turning away from her, he left, returning to his post at the front door.

Taking out her handkerchief from her bag, the lavender head wiped her eyes which were now filled with the fury of determination.

So, they wouldn't fall for crying damsels in distress, eh? Hmph, plus they also gave out stupid excuses not to let her in! Who would believe that Syuusuke-koi didn't want her around, right? Well, then, she would just have to resort to dirtier tactics.

A few minutes later, Karumi was walking up the stairs again.

She was ready to take her plan into action.

"Didn't we tell you already — ultra mini-skirts and sexy outfits? Come on, miss, we're better than that. We wouldn't say yes even if you were to come up here naked, right Ushikubo?"

"Hai, there's no way you're getting in," nodded the other guard in agreement.

Okay, so that didn't work. No worries Karumi-chan, no worries. There's always plan b, the backup plan.

"Sigh. So you two really aren't that gullible. I guess then you wouldn't be enticed with a bunch of Nadeshiko Maaya tickets now would you?" she batted her eyes, waving several tickets in front of them. "Oh well, that would be a total waste. Next month is Maaya-chan's latest album's debut in the Seishun concert with all new songs and we were planning to hand out free backstage passes along with these to two very lucky people……and I thought I had just found them both, but I guess they aren't interested…..oh well, I guess I have to find someone else then. Being Maaya-chan's manager sure is tough for a girl like me."

"M-Matte, are those really ……genuine?"

"Yup. I'm her manager so you can be sure of that. I even have my I.D. here with me to prove it."

"It would be fine if we let her drop in just for a little bit……ne, Ushikubo? What do you think?" the first guard gazed longingly and wantonly at the tickets of temptation. His former wall of anti-corruption/anti-manipulation was crumbling down by each nanosecond of looking. The second guard you ask? Uhhhh….let's just say he was already drooling excitedly.

"Let her in as long as she wants!"

Ding! Karumi catches, she shoots, she scores!

Being her bestfriend's manager sure had its perks. Now nothing could get in between her date with Syuusuke-koi. Now she would get up to his office, find Syuusuke-koi patiently waiting for her, and find everything where it should belong. Syuusuke-koi wouldn't be gone, the office would still be there and the guards would be proven wrong.

Those were the thoughts rambling through her head as she rode up the elevator; all positive-minded thoughts.

But then she got up to the top floor.........and that was the end of it all.

"Syuusuke-koi, I'm he —Syuusuke-koi?"

The lobby was empty. Karumi barged right through the office saying the same thing and finding the same thing —emptiness. Nothingness. Her precious koishii was nowhere to be found, no where! She even checked all the comfort rooms on the floor, both male and female.

Drops of water began dripping down her face, this time for real. She couldn't understand this, she couldn't understand this at all! She hated it when she couldn't get things right.

"Sumimasen. Karumi-dono?"

"Hai?"

"I'm Fuji-san's secretary Takahatchi Azumi. It's such an honor to meet my boss's girlfriend. He barely mentioned you to anyone, but I can clearly remember you as his persistent caller on the phone in the lobby. I hope we get to see each other often, ne?"

"Ummm, yeah," sniffled the teary-eyed lavender head. 'Maybe I'll get to see you in koishii's office, wherever that may be. If it's really, really far then I say it won't be often enough, and I CANT STAND THAT! Not getting to see koishii three to eight times a day? THAT'S PREPOSTEROUS!"

Karumi was wailing terribly, clinging on to the secretary as she cried. The poor secretary fumbled inside her pockets to find some tissue and handed it over to the sobbing woman.

"Why does he have to move away even?"

Takahatchi gave her a comforting smile and shrugged.

"It was a company decision. We can serve our customers better that way since Seishun is rather hard to reach. They decided on relocating today and though it came as quite a surprise to Fuji-sama he approved of it. He said that it was for the best and —oh yes! I almost forgot! President Fuji-sams told me to hand this over to you! It's a letter addressed to you Karumi-dono."

A white envelope gently ended up in the woman's hands.

"I'll be out in the lobby if you need anything."

The door was hear shutting behind her and Karumi knew that she was left all alone in the bare office.

Stare at the envelope Karumi, just stare. Don't open it. You don't know what could be inside. Just stare, stare, stare and …..stare some more.

Oh Kami, this was driving her nuts!

Riiiippp…..

The envelope was torn open. Shakily taking the letter in her hands, Karumi read its contents; contents that sent her running out the lobby crying oceans of tears. (a/n: I told you not to open it. *shrug* you really are hardheaded stupid Karumi. I'm glad you are though, I enjoy torturing you. : P )

"Do you need something Karumi-dono?"

"Hai!" wailed Karumi, "More tissues! Please, and a shoulder to cry on too……please!"

"Why? What happened? Ogenki desu ka?"

"Iie, ogenki ja naiTakahatchi-san! Ogenki ja nai……Syuusuke-koi, he –he, he dumped me! I –I thought, I thought that as long as he would be away from her everything would be fine, but now nothing's fine at all! I loved him so much to and, and he just threw me out like dirt! I don't want to ever see or hear from him again! Ever!"

"Daijoubo, daijoubo. It's better for you not to Karumi-dono. It'll just break you all the more if you do see him again. It's wiser if you don't ."

"Don't worry, I won't!" she cried all the more, sobbing loudly as she grasped her 'ex'-boyfriend's secretary, her tears dimming her vision. Her eyes hurt so much from all that sorrow that poor little Karumi could hardly see anything clearly, including the smirk quickly appearing then disappearing on Takahatchi's face.

"That's good."

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Meanwhile inside the Fuji hospital room, the outosan of our beloved Tensai is sputtering coughs as he rummages aimlessly for something inside the nightstand drawer.

"Now where was cough, that, cough. I'm sure I left it here," the heart attack patient groaned as he continued digging around. "Hah! Finally found you! Way to go me!" he cheered himself on, bursting into a fit of coughs as an after-effect.

"Now time to, cough, cough, see how my plan is working."

Putting the earpiece near to his ears, Fuji Okinawa patiently waited for someone to pick up and answer.

"Moshimoshi? Fuji-san?"

"Hai, cough, Takahatchi-san. Did everything go as planned? I hope nothing went wrong, my son's future is the one at stake here, cough, cough.'

The retired ex-president received a very positive answer from the woman. The girl had believed everything was real and wouldn't bother to see Syuusuke anymore. It was unknown to his son that they had broken up already, but he would be glad if he knew. She no longer posed a threat to Okinawa and Shino's greater design for their children's lives.

As for his son, Syuusuke had already boarded the plane without any suspicion of what was actually going on at all.

This was very, very good news indeed.

Now for phase two.

"Arigatou Takahatchi-san. You are doing your job well and for that I will keep my end of the bargain as promised. Don't worry, you will be compensated well for these extra-outside-the-company affairs. Listen Takahatchi-san, I want you to do something else for me. Could you make sure the hotel arrangements go smoothly? Hai? Good. Please report to me as soon as you receive word from our contacts, cough, cough, okay?"

"Fuji-san? Are you handling company matters again behind my back? At this rate you might have a second heart-attack! You're supposed to rest for petesakes," exclaimed his doctor. He had come in seeing the older Fuji on the phone choking coughs. That sight definitely did not please the physician. Okinawa was caught red-handed.

Still, even if he was caught, he hid the phone behind his back and grinned sheepishly at the exasperated doctor. He needed a quick alibi.

'What are you talking about doctor-san? I was merely on the phone talking to a friend. I wasn't working at all. I'm retired already from work, remember? Now, sumimasen demo I have to finish this call."

The doctor fell for it. Thinking that he had made a mistake, he bowed down low. "Gomennasai. Please finish your call Fuji-san," he stepped out of the room.

"Eto, moshimoshi Takahatchi-san are you still there?" resumed Okinawa as soon as the doctor left. "Do we have a deal?"

"Hai."

Okinawa ended the cal grinning. As long as Takahatchi Azumi was on it, he truly had nothing to worry about. She would keep her word, she always did. That was why he hired her in the first place. Phase two of his part of the plan would soon be accomplished. The next turn was Shino's move.

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Pok, pok, pok.

The sound of tennis balls hitting back and forth echoed inside the deserted tennis court, the tang of their beat following a rhythmic pattern. It was like a steady rhythm, the sound of harmonious melody as two tennis balls bounced back and forth against the wall in unison. They were in perfect harmony with each other, that was, until the sound of one of the balls dropping in mid-air came along with the thud of someone stumbling on the hearth, the exact same person who had been hitting that ball against the wall.

"Ittai!"

The second balls rhythm ended as well. In its place was the worried voice of the second person.

"Ryuuzaki, are you alright? Can you get up?" our golden eyed tennis prince rushed towards the fallen woman cringing at the small cut on her leg. " Hai, Ryoma-kun. Daijoubo. It's just a small cut, I can handle it myself."

"Cheh, Ryuuzuki. You're still so mada mada dane," muttered Ryoma.

"Eh?!" squeaked Sakuno as she found herself being lifted up in her boyfriend's arms, princess style. "It's not much, I can walk over to the bench by myself Ryoma-kun! Put me down!"

Shaking his head he gave her a disapproving look and held on to her even more tightly. The tennis prince would never take something like that for an answer.

"Ryuuzaki I may have promised our sempaitachi to take care of Nadeshiko Maaya just before we left the reunion three days ago, but I also swore to take care of you, no matter what. So don't tell me to stop what I'm doing," he chided her in an annoyed tone. "Besides, it doesn't look like you're uncomfortable like this. You're not even blushing. I miss the color maroon on you, you know."

"Honto ni? Eto, Ryoma-kun I may not be blushing but still please, let me —" suddenly Sakuno felt Ryoma's lips taking hers in a brief and tender kiss as her eyes widened in surprise. Breaking away from her, Ryoma's lips curled into a smirk at the shocked expression on her face.

"Shhh. Now no more talking, alright?" he ordered, putting a finger to her mouth.

The auburn head did as she was told and kept quiet while the tennis prodigy carefully set her down on a bench to lay a band-aid on her wound.

Sakuno never noticed before, but Ryoma was always so gentle in handling her and he could be very sweet and caring as well, the exact opposite of his cocky nature. He really loved her, she knew that much by the way he would look into her eyes. She could only wonder why, despite all the affection showered on her, she always felt that something never seemed quite right. It was as if she was still missing something ever since that day she saw Fuji-sempai leave in the airport.

"Hnn, Ryuuzaki, stop spacing out like that. Your annoying phone's ringing," Ryoma snapped suddenly. The girl was brought out of her dream world to see herself staring in front of her boyfriend who was handing out her phone which she took without hesitation.

"Moshimoshi? Kore wa dare desu ka?"

'Ohayou Sakuno-chan. You already know who is this. How's my perfect singer doing? Is your date with Echizen going well? Just make sure he doesn't smother your heart again, okay?" she hear a pleasant voice over the phone. A smile was brought to her face when she realized it belonged to her father but was soon disfigured into a surprised 'o' shape.

"Outosan, how – how did you know? I didn't even tell you about the two of us yet!'

"Hehehe," he chuckled. Right now Sakuno could imagine his I-knew-it-all-along look accompanying his laughter of his. "Of course I should know, you are my only daughter after all. Ne Sakuno-chan can you do your outosan a little favor?"

"Hai, of course outosan. I'll do anything you ask me to," she agreed readily.

If there was one thing about Ryuuzaki Sakuno that made her stand out among all the usually disrespectful people of her generation, it was her overflowing respect and obedience for her parents. She had always acknowledged the people who had earned the name 'Sakuno's parents', even though they had left her in the care of her Obaasan for a great remainder of her life due to their tight schedules.

Why? Because of the fact that despite of their busy work they had always taken the time to communicate with her, their only child on a daily basis, be it through the phone, letters, or the internet.

She respected them so much. Ryoma who was watching the girl while she called was even amazed at how fast she gave a yes. Cheh. If he were in her shoes, he would tell his Oyaji to get lost and then hang up. He really didn't give a damn about what his perverted oyaji thought of him.

"Are you sure Sakuno-chan? You wouldn't mind me taking you away from your boyfriend for a concert for the company? The company will be having a meeting in a hotel and I was thinking that the dry formalities could be rejuvenated by Nadeshiko Maaya's singing. It'd be such a waste if the company can't get to hear my daughter sing for once."

"Hai, I'd love to do a concert, Tousan. Which hotel? Will it be here in Nagasaki where I'm staying? Don't worry I'll be packed and ready by tomorrow so – "

"Matte, you're in Nagasaki right now? No wonder the phone's breaking up. Ne listen Sakuno-chan, I'm sending a chopper in to pick you up. It'll be there any moment now. I packed for you five suitcases of clothes, you'll be staying there for a week or so….."

The signal broke up the call. Sakuno looked bewildered and confused as she stuffed the phone back into her bag.

_What did outosan mean by a chopper was coming any moment now?_

She wasn't ready yet, she still had to pack. Worst of all she still had to tell the feline-eyed lad about her departure and it seemed that during the remainder of the call he had gone back to hitting tennis balls on the wall. She didn't really have the guts to approach the Ryoma right now. He looked rather busy twist serving shots on the wall.

_Eh, but what if the chopper comes in right now?_

Gulp. She had to go over there and tell him, guts or no guts.

"Eto, excuse me Ryoma-kun, could I-could I talk to you for a moment? I'm sorry for interrupting your practice demo, it's really important?" Sakuno watched as the tennis prince caught the ball in his left hand, took off his cap drenched in sweat and raised his eyebrow at her. His shiny bluish black hair shone under the heat of the sun and somehow seemed to dance under the wind. "Nanio Ryuuzaki?"

"Erm, Ryoma-kun, it's just that I have to do a concert for my father's company, he asked me to and I couldn't say no."

"What's wrong with that? I don't mind at all," answered Echizen. His hair was still dancing but this time it was more unruly, if it really were a dancer you could safely say it was doing the cancan. Sakuno noticed this but decided not to mention it. She had to talk about more important matters first.

"Honto ni? I'll be gone for a week and -"

This time Ryoma's hair was a tornado and so was hers as Sakuno finally found the reason behind the wind as a thundering sound of propellers of helicopter chopped through the air just right above them.

"AND KAMI, RYOMA-KUN I HAVE TO GO NOW! I'LL BE BACK SOON, I PROMISE!" she shouted over the noise of the blades as the chopper lowered down a rope ladder for her to cling on to. "TAKE CARE!"

"MATTE!" Ryoma held her back. He landed a kiss for goodbye and smirked before he let her go. "GO ON RYUUZAKI!"

With that, Sakuno waved goodbye and entered the chopper. Three men suited up in black were waiting for her inside along with five suitcases, just like her father had said. He really was a man of his word.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Ryuuzaki."

"Hai, arigatou. Ne, so where are we off to? Tokyo? Hiroshima? Kyoto?" she asked cheerfully, addressing her three escorts.

"Tsushima island.'

"What? Why of all places Tsushima?"

"We are only doing as told Ms. Ryuuzaki. Upon reaching the Hiroi Sora Hotel we will immediately tend to your things while you will prepare yourself in the restroom with your wig. Those were the instructions President Ryuuzaki left us."

Sakuno pouted. She knew that that was the only answer she would get. These men knew nothing more than 'doing as what we were told'. Sighing, the auburn head could only keep quiet.

When they finally reached Tsushima, she was more than happy to be out of the stuffy chopper and even happier to see that Hiroi Sora and Tsushima wasn't such a bad place after all….no scratch that. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The hotel was a beach resort, just like the last one she had been to with the regulars…but this…this resort was paradise! Sparkling blue sea, white sand, shining sun, chirping birds!

Gaaah! And not only that, the rooms weren't in the condo style, they were separated from each other, like small houses dotting the beach!

So this was the company meeting venue eh?

Sakuno couldn't wait to see what her room would be like. Bounding into the rest room, Ryuuzaki Sakuno went in and came out as her ebony-haired alter ego, Nasehsiko Maaya, just as instructed.

"Sumimasen Miss," the singer approached the counter in the front desk of the main office of the resort. "What number is Nadeshiko Maaya?"

"Ahhh, Nadeshiko Maaya-san, we've been expecting you. Gomen ne, demo we have a slight problem. We've been booked tight and had only one room left when your call for reservation was made and unfortunately another person had reserved it ahead of you. Now we tried making negotiations with that person and have successfully made am exception for you wherein the two of you shall be sharing that single room. That's if it's alright with you though."

"Mmm, its fine,' she answered directly without giving it much thought. "So, where's the key? Are my bags there already?"

"Hai. Here's the key. The room is right over there, the European designed room at the left of the beach. Enjoy your stay." The clerk pointed out a large single room house over the end of the left area of the row of room houses.

"Thank you."

Walking up to the place, Sakuno trudged along the sand, looked up at the sky and smiled contentedly. Right now, she was too happy to think about anything like the room-sharing situation. She didn't even want to think about Ryoma-kun right now because of all preoccupation with her ecstasy.

It was as if the emptiness in her heart had suddenly disappeared Justas soon as she had stepped on the sand. There was just something about the place that made her feel…..lighter….happier….complete. The past few days, ever since she had seen Fuji-sempai go away with her bff manager and said yes to Ryoma-kun, Sakuno had been feeling down deep inside and though she was good at hiding it from Ryoma, it was still there. She could never really hide it from herself.

But now she suddenly felt all that pain going away and the singer wanted it like that as long as possible.

Walking on, she reached the room.

"This must be it. The room really looks so kawaii! I cant wait to get in. I wonder who's my roommate though," she mussed excitedly as she stood out the door. Knocking on it several times, Sakuno received no answer and safely deduced that, well, no room mate was inside. She decided to get in, after all she had a key to room and she was staying there.

Sakuno inserted the key in and opened the door, standing in front of a roommate that looked just as shocked as her.

"Sakuno-chan?"

"Sempai…."

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

Japanese Terms

Hai – yes

Iie – no

Arigatou – thank you

Gomennasai – I'm sorry

Daijoubo – it's alright

Ittai – ouch, painful

Ogenki desu ka – are you alright

Ogenki ja nai – I'm not fine at all

Honto ni – really

Mada mada dane –Ryoma's favorite catch phrase, you still have lots to work on

Matte – wait

Tousan -father

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

**A/N:** Hello Minna! Honto ni gommennasai for being two days late! I was really busy this week and my parents have gotten a little bit strict on the typing coz it's almost the opening of classes right here in the Phil.

Anyway, I wanted to say thanks to all those who have been reviewing and following my story up to this chap. I even got already more than a thousand hits since chap. 8 and I'm soooooo happy : )

Here's the list of reviewers,( I'm arranging it according to the frequency of reviews so please don't get hurt or anything by the arrangement. ^_^)

SilverDoe02

rebeccasanfujieijilvr

Dark Night

Mysweetkat

Double Mask

Pussycat Dolls

Dainty Sue

Thank you minna for all your support! I'm so grateful, I just want to give out a chap 9 thank you note to everyone ^_^

Eto, I'll be making another one at the end of the story and to those who want to be on it, please review. There are a lot of people who really don't bother reviewing, but please do. I need your support too guys! It's really lonely if I don't get to know what you think : (

Ok, so chap. 10 is coming up, and I'll try my best to update as soon as possible, but that'll be a little hard on me since the opening of classes will start next Monday. But I will do my best, I promise. Gambatte shimasu ^_^

Ja!


	10. In His Arms

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: If I owned the Prince of tennis, then I wouldn't be writing this disclaimer now would I? No, if I owned the Prince of tennis then I wouldn't need to write one; I could do whatever I wanted to with the Seigaku regulars lives, which includes me having Fuji for a lover but I don't, so boohoo for me, Fuji's fate rests with Konomi-sensei and I can never have him for myself.

** a/n: please be reminded to read and review minna!**

**Chapter Ten**

**In His Arms**

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

"Saa, you three must be my roommate's men," the brunette forced a smile in greeting. "And those must be the luggage. Well then, feel free to put them anywhere you please inside the room, then after that you can leave quietly. This is a private room and I don't think I'd want to share it with more than one person."

The threesome didn't bother to contest with Fuji's wishes and left as quickly as they arrived. With that irritated look he had on, the three had no wish to stay longer anyway.

Shutting the door locked, Fuji sighed as he walked to the single bed that occupied the room and snatched up a bathing towel lying at its edge. He wanted to shower. He was tired, numb and most of all annoyed – very annoyed. He needed an outlet to take out his exhaustion.

Stepping into the shower without his clothes on, Fuji twisted the faucet and felt warm droplets pelting on his skin and ease away the tension in his muscles.

"Just what is my father thinking setting me up in this kind of situation?" grumbled the brunette coldly as the twisted the knob open just a little bit more. "First he moves my office without letting me know beforehand, then he sends me to Tsushima and now this? Reserving me a room that I'm supposed to share with a complete stranger. Kami, this must mean no privacy for me at all. Just wait till the weekend's over Outosan then I'll really find out what you're up to."

An icy sadistic smile crept up the tensai's face and he chuckled evily.

Hohoho. His outosan really won't like what he'll do if he finds out his father was doing all of this for the sake of worming his way back into a stressed-filled, heart-hostile life and kill himself…….

Nee-san would certainly make that old man change his mind.

In fact, maybe his outosan would be very glad to stay put, rest and make the hospital his permanent residence once Yumiko-nee would get word about the old man's little escapade. Shampooing his light brown locks, Fuji's smile got even wider as his thoughts got more sadistic.

"Hmmm, come to think of it, Yumiko-nee still needs more teaching. What new recipe should I teach her? Aozu Tropica Deluxe, worm mud pie, or sardine shake? Maybe — " Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by knocks on the door. They were faint knocks but Fuji could still hear them despite the pattering of the dripping shower. It was as if the knocks were alive and calling him to the door.

The tensai had a small notion that it would be his roommate and he was supposed to hesitate and become grumpy but instead he found himself hurriedly wrapping a dry towel around his waist and rushing out without even bothering to wipe himself dry.

Padding to the door, he stood there feet away, stunned to the core and dripping wet.

"Sakuno-chan?"

She had her jet black wig on but Fuji had no doubt that it was her. The blush on her cheeks, the full and sweet pink lips curved out in a gape, the well formed nose, the large brown doe-like eyes that emanated her surprise proved that point. It was none other than Ryuuzaki Sakuno.

"Sempai?" the crimson on her cheeks darkened as she covered her eyes that went wide. "I – I didn't mean to just barge in, anou, I knocked but then no answered so – eto….I'll just get out if you want to. Please finish changing."

Fuji stared at her and then looked down at himself.

Oh snap. He had forgotten to change. He was half-naked, no wonder the girl went into a shaking crimson shock.

" Daijoubo, daijoubo Sakuno-chan, you don't need to get out. Just sit there on the couch by the glass doors and I'll be out in a second."

Snatching a shirt from the closet, the brunette quickly reentered the shower to change.

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Blinking her eyes in disbelief, Sakuno stole quick glances of the young man helping her unpack beside her. She still couldn't believe that Fuji-sempai was her roommate all along. She had expected to see a female roommate, not a sempai modeling his well -built torso with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

Kami, she was still blushing at the remembrance of the brunette in such an arousing state, his upper body uncovered, exhibiting his sinewy muscles, trickles of water caressingly dripping down his hair and down his jaw line making her want to — Kya! Ryuuzaki Sakuno just what are you thinking about? This is Fuji-sempai we're talking about, stop thinking hentai thoughts, he might notice your tomatoe-ness right now!

"Saa, is there something on your mind Sakuno-chan? I don't think it's healthy for a young woman such as yourself to stare at a man ne?"

"Ehhh! Gomene sempai! I was being absent-minded again!" she squeaked shakily as she quickly averted her gaze from her smiling sempai. " Eto, could you please put these inside the cabinet? I need to go to the restroom for a moment!"

Without even thinking, the auburn-head dumped whatever she was holding in her hands and dashed straight into the restroom, slamming the door behind her. If she had slowed down a bit she would have heard the tensai's amused mutters but she was too embarrassed to even bother recalling the more shameful deed of just dumping her brasseries and underwear right into the tensai's arms.

Good thing she didn't remember what she had held at all because if she did then her cheeks wouldn't only be the color of a tomato but a blackish red tomato.

Meanwhile, inside the restroom the embarrassed girl leaned her back on the door for support.

"Ryuuzaki Sakuno, just what were you thinking about your Fuji-sempai? What's happening to you? Don't be a pervert Sakuno-chan……..Fuji-sempai is your bestfriend, don't let him think that you've become a hentai," her inner voice began chiding her inside her head. "You have a boyfriend for crying out loud, stop it already! Fuji-sempai is not Ryoma-kun, Fuji-sempai is not Ryoma-kun. Now compose yourself!"

Taking a deep breath, Sakuno tried to calm down her heart that was beating wildly against her chest. "Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out," she chanted. Closing her eyes she tried to put all her effort into what she was doing.

"Eto, this is odd, I can still hear my heart thudding. I wonder why, anou, I can usually compose myself easily around Ryoma-kun. My pulse has never reached this fast before. Okay then, I should concentrate a little bit more."

It wasn't that easy for her to calm down; it took her exactly ten minutes to return to her normal pulse and lose most of the red in her cheeks.

"Okay, now I can get out of the comfort room without having to worry about having a tomato for a head," she sighed.

"Saa Sakuno-chan you've been in there for fifteen minutes. Is everything alright Saku-chan?"

Bam, after hearing her sempai's voice, tomato colors appear on her again. Gaaah. All her precious efforts were put to a waste. "Never mind that, Fuji-sempai will surely think that it's normal," she thought.

"Sakuno-chan?"

"Hai, I'm coming!"

The auburn head opened the door to be greeted by her sempai's warm smiling face and she couldn't help but smile back despite the heat rising in her cheeks.

"Kitto Yatta. I thought that something might have happened to you in there. You really made me worried you know Sakuno-chan. Well then, now that I know that you're safe, why don't we have some dinner ne? That way we can talk better over supper. You've been keeping to yourself since the unpacking and hardly said a word at all. Besides it seems that you've been feeling quite uneasy ever since you got here. Eating some sushi in the restaurant might lift your spirits up. What do you say to it?"

"Eto, gomennasai sempai, demo I think you should go on without me. I'll have to finish unpacking first and I don't want to drag you down with me…." she apologized bowing down her head.

Fuji smiled at her as he pointed out, "But I finished unpacking for you minutes ago Sakuno-chan."

"Uso!"

"Honto ni."

"Demo, demo - ," she waved her hands up and down the air hurriedly trying to think of a reasonable alibi. _"I can't tell Fuji-sempai that I can't go with him because I look flustered whenever he's around….gaaah that would make things so awkward and embarrassing."_

Fuji sighed and lost his smile which he tried to hide.

"I guess you're not that up for it. I'll go on my own then. What do you want me to bring you when I get back?" he offered, trying not to sound too disappointed.

"Sempai, don't! I mean….um….why don't we just order? I really can't go the restaurant because if I do go as Nadeshiko Maaya then it might cause us trouble. If I go as Ryuuzaki Sakuno then the hotel management might get suspicious."

"Alright then, I'll call the restaurant delivery, just wait there okay?"

With the disappointment in his voice erased, Sakuno watched the tensai pick up the landline on the stand next to couch and put a sort of relieved hand on her forehead. She decided to sit down on the couch next to him and listen to him order on the phone.

"Hai, miss, I said steak, onigiri, wasabi sushi and — what? You ran out of viand? Hai, hai, I understand. Thanks anyway." Putting down the receiver, Fuji turned to the girl next to him. "They ran out of food in the restaurant Sakuno-chan, there were too many customers. You were right to not let us go there; it would've been a waste of time. We can't go to another restaurant, in Tsushima we're far away from the main city."

"What should we do then sempai? I don't think outosan packed any food at all and I don't think it would be safe for us to go to the city with me as Nadeshiko Maaya. We could get mobbed. It's so late already and…….and…..what if a ghost were attack us along the way?" Sakuno began to panic.

Patting his kouhai on the shoulder Fuji chuckled at the shuddering auburn head whose superstitious side just got to her. "I don't think there are any ghosts here Sakuno-chan but if you really don't want to eat out the why don't we just cook dinner ne? I haven't tasted your cooking in a really long time already and it would be really fun, ne? I could teach you how to cook wasabi."

Bling. Bright brown doe-like eyes began to sparkle. Bling. Bling.

"Sure! But…..does this room even have a kitchen?"

Fuji nodded his head and pointes at the door with a sign in huge letters reading 'kitchen'. The smile Sakuno gave out was boundless.

The two walked through that door to find a kitchen haven. Complete utensils, the latest high-tech kitchen appliances, a huge counter and a refrigerator stocked full with all sorts of ingredients.

What more could a girl like Sakuno want? Everything she needed to make a perfect dinner for two was right before her eyes……….she really did miss the kitchen this much. It had been quite a time since she had gotten to cook and now that the opportunity presented itself, she would rise to the occasion.

All they both needed were clumps of vegetables, rice, fish, a bowl of laughter topped with jokes and viola, tension and all former uneasiness goes kapoof and in its place is happy couple getting ready to eat. Simple and easy magic!

"That was so fun sempai!"

"Yeah. Do you want to cook again sometime? If you do then make sure to cook a hundred of these wasabi for me," mumbled the tensai with a happy smile in between bites.

Sakuno nodded her head. She really felt so happy today, especially during the times her sempai would smile like that.

"You really should smile like that always Fuji-sempai. I want to see your real smile always."

"Is that so?"

"Hai. It makes me happy to see you happy sempai."

Fuji gently wiped a crumb on her face. He resist looking at the girl warmly, touched by what she had said while she blushed at the sudden contact. " No, I'm happier when I see you smiling," he muttered softly, letting his finger linger on her face as her blush deepened. "And I'm glad that fate put me in this sort of situation, in a place where I can get to see you even for just a week. If I just get to see you smile all the time we're together, then I'll be content to live out my life with nothing else."

Sakuno couldn't exactly understand what her sempai was really trying to say, nor could she understand that warm and fuzzy feeling in her heart.

"Eto, are you done eating sempai? I'll start clearing up the table if you're done," she said. Of course, the brunette wanted to see to it that he could offer her assistance and of course Sakuno declined that offer.

"Alright, if that's what you want Sakuno-chan. Come out and join me on the beach when you're done. Saa, the night's beautiful," said Fuji as he walked out of the sliding door, leaving the auburn head to battle the dishes alone just the way she liked it.

Sigh. Now Sakuno could have more time to compose herself again.

"Lalalalalalala….." she hummed. "There, almost done – Eh, a phones ringing. Could that be my phone?"

But it wasn't her phone, she had turned it off during the ride in the chopper.

The ringing was continuously sounding and it was getting louder by the second. That was when she noticed the cellphone on the bed, most likely Fuji-sempai's. She looked into the caller i.d., and when she saw the name, Sakuno froze.

It was Karumi. A strange feeling rose up her chest as she stared the words Sakamoto Karumi with trembling and shaking hands that held the phone.

Sakamoto Karumi. Really, she had almost forgotten about the day she forgot about 'them', Fuji-sempai and Karumi. " I –I need to give this to Fuji-sempai," she sputtered weakly.

She walked out the glass doors and saw him. There he was, basking underneath the starry sky and gazing at the rocking waves. He was waiting for her and her alone. Sakuno really felt like throwing the phone away but that wouldn't be right.

Picking up her pace, Sakuno quietly approached the spot where he was sitting.

"Saa, Sakun-chan, you look like you've just seen a ghost. We can go back inside if you want to. You don't look too well, you seem rather pale," Fuji looked up at the girl.

Feebly, she handed him his phone and turned quickly away.

"What's this?"

"Someone's calling you." With that the auburn head distanced herself away from him and sat down with her back facing the brunette.

Sakuno couldn't understand it. She didn't want see Fuji smile sincerely this time, because now he would be smiling because of someone else. She couldn't stand seeing his eyes shine so brightly if he would look at her when he would be thinking of someone else. She couldn't understand why she was feeling this way.

"Saa, I'm so happy Sakuno-chan!" Sakuno heard the tensai's cool yet excited voice from behind.

"Why is that sempai?" she asked, looking away as he sat down next to her. She tried to get up, but then suddenly arms were wrapped around her shoulders just midway of her getting up so that now she was sitting on her feet while being embraced.

"Karumi-chan finally broke up with me!" "Sempai." "What? Aren't you happy for me?"

"No sempai, it's that I'm losing my balance and we're about to —,"

Thud. And fall they did, rolling down onto the shore and into the watery waves with Fuji right on top of Sakuno, right into the cold and salty water.

"Cough, cough, Sakuno-chan, ogenki desu ka?" sputtered the brunette, his face centimeters away from the auburn head who just mouthed a meek 'hai' in response. "Kami, you're getting cold and wet, you're even shivering because of the cold Sakuno-chan. I have to take you inside, you might get sick staying out here like this."

Fuji lifted her in his arms and carried the soaked girl bridal style the whole way.

Sakuno looked up at him and smiled as she watched him hurry along, not bothering to even mind about anything else but the mere thought of getting her back inside safely.

"Fuji-sempai really cares about his friends so much," she thought outloud.

"Iie, you're the only one I care about Sakuno-chan," responded Fuji absentmindedly as they got closer to the room.

"Huh? What was that sempai?"

"Never mind, it was nothing. Oh, here we are already. Saa wait here on the couch, I'll go get a dry towel."

When the tensai returned with the towel in his hand, Sakuno was planning to let her do the drying up but then as if he read her mind, Fuji tugged at both ends of the towel and wiped her dry himself.

"There all done, you can now go to the restroom and take a warm shower," he declared, wrapping another dry towel around her shoulders.

"What about you sempai?"

"I'll be fine Sakuno-chan. Now go get to the restroom."

After a few minutes in the shower the auburn head was done and then it was Fuji's turn to use the restroom. " Sakuno-chan, you should go to sleep now. Don't wait for me, you need to get some rest. We'll be cooking breakfast early in the morning together, okay? Saa, oyasumi."

Sakuno opened her mouth to speak but then the tensai was already gone and she pouted in dismay.

"But there's only one bed! Don't tell me he wants me to sleep comfortably on a nice proper bed while he would have to endure either the hard agonizing floor or the study couch? Fuji-sempai is really kind but I can't let him have his way so easily."

Fuji-sempai had already done so much for herm now it was her turn to at least sacrifice for him just this once. Not only that, but her sempai must be going through a lot of heart ache and despondency right now after breaking up with the woman he loved so much. He was the one who needed to rest, not her. Even though he seemed so energized and filled with life right after hearing the horrible news and even though Sakuno felt like jumping up and down in ecstasy Sakuno would not let his facades not her mind-boggling feelings get in the way of giving her sempai his much-needed rest.

"Sakuno you're still up. Is there something wrong with the bed? Do you have trouble sleeping?" The auburn head crossed her arms and simply nodded at the tensai who had just come fresh out of the shower. ( A/N:He was full dressed mind you. Don't get any funny ideas just yet.) "You have trouble sleeping? Is it because of something that Echizen might've done? Ne, you can tell me anything Sakuno-chan. I'll always be right by your side to listen to every word you say."

"Really?" Sakuno looked at him with puppy dog eyes. "Really." Puppy dog eyes really do work like magic sometimes.

A sheepishly coy ran across her lips. "Okay then! Let's swap places, you stay on the bed, I stay on the couch!"

"Saa, that's it? I cannot let that happen Sakuno-chan, you know I can't."

"But you said that you would listen to every word I'd say!" she protested.

"Saa I did say so demo I didn't say that I would agree without a proper mindset, and a person without a proper mindset would allow their endearing little best girl friend sleep on the couch while he on the other hand snores selfishly on a queen sized bed."

Anou, Fuji-sempai really is so persistent but, he doesn't have what she has……get ready Sakuno-chan. One, two, three, and Puppy dog eyes. "Pleeeeaase."

The tensai's determined eyes softened and then melted in warmth. Like I stated earlier, the canine counter part of human's so-called 'windows to the soul' always work on anyone.

"I — alright, I give up. But you shouldn't stay on the couch, you'll feel stiff on the morning on the sofa."

"That's fine with me. I don't mind sleeping on the floor because I want sempai to sleep well tonight. It isn't easy to have your heart being torn apart by the person you love the most sempai, I can understand what you're feeling right now. You should rest well so you can recover from your break up with Karumi."

Fuji put a hand over his forehead and shook his head with a sigh. Without warning h e lifted his utterly surprised Sakuno-chan into his arms and plopped her right on top of the bed. The opposition in her voice did not hinder him at all.

"Sempai, I thought we had a deal!" she protested, kicking at the blanket near her feet. She struggled to get up, but Fuji would always topple her back down on bed.

"Saa, yes, I do recall making a deal but I still don't it would be good for you to sleep on the floor or on the couch. Hmmm, since you don't want me to sleep on the couch, and since I don't want you sleeping there either, why don't we try this? We'll just share the bed. Anyway it's queen sized, both of us can fit in."

"O-okay," she stuttered as she flushed at the thought of sleeping in the same bed with her sempai. She watched herself being tucked in gently and observed with a blush her sempai crawling into bed next to her. Though they were a distance apart Sakuno could still feel the wild rhythm of her heart beating against her chest.

Kami, what was wrong with her?

"Sempai," she murmured.

"Nani o Sakuno-chan?"

"Um, um, I hope you don't mind me asking Fuji-sempai but – but did you really break up with Karumi-chan? I – it's just that she might get mad at the two of us for doing this. She might see things differently…….and……and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought the topic up," the auburn head said. She shifted her position sideways.

"Sakuno-chan, I haven't told you about Karumi-chan yet, haven't I? It must have come as quite a shock to you. Our relationship actually wasn't something that I really wanted. Circumstances just put the two of us together and well, I never loved her at all. I'm glad that she called saying that she never wanted to see me again and that she was breaking up though I have exactly no idea why she did."

Sakuno flushed. So her sempai felt nothing for her manager Sakamoto Karumi at all.

"Then who is the one that you really love then sempai?"

"The person closest to my heart, but she loves someone else. Why do you want to know Sakuno-chan?"

"I think – I was just curious that's all. Don't think about it anymore sempai, you shouldn't bother your mind on it. I don't know what I was thinking." She apologized with a little disappointment in her voice. She had been expecting a well-defined answer from the hard to read brunette and though she denied it fervently in the hallows of her mind, a part of her longed and hoped for him to say the one he loved was her.

"Don't apologize Sakuno-chan, you don't have any reason to. Saa, it's raining."

The two heard the faint pitter patter of droplets tapping on the roof which progressed into a heavier, steadier beating and then eventually transformed into a pounding downpour. Cold wind crawled through the windows and the temperature in the room dropped considerably.

Sakuno wrapped her share of the blanket around her, wounding it tightly.

"It's really raining hard," se quietly spoke to herself as she buried her body deeper underneath the covers seeking warmth.

"Do you feel cold? Saa, come closer to me, I can help you feel warmer."

"But- but," hesitated Sakuno.

"Come."

Obediently the girl moved closer and closer to him, her light pink cheeks turning into a darker shad as she did so. She was now a few inches away from him.

"Closer Sakuno-chan."

She did as he said. Now they faces were merely centimeters apart and their skin touché each other.

"Does it feel better?"

"Sort of," she gulped, her voice nearly drowned out by the trashing of the rain.

Suddenly the auburn head felt her sempai's sinewy arms wrap around her back pulling her body closer to his with their only boundaries being their clothes and she suddenly felt his legs twining around hers securely, making her blush turn maroon.

"Does this feel any better?"

Oddly, it really did feel comfortable for Sakuno to be in that position with her head underneath the crook of Fuji's head, leaning against his upper chest. She could hear the smooth pattern of his breathing despite the trampling downpour and she really did feel so secure in his warm embrace. So secure, so content that all her troubles, thoughts of Ryoma-kun, thoughts of Karumi-chan faded in that warmth.

"Mmmm, Hai," she answered contentedly.

Slowly her tensed body eased in comfort as it moulded and pressed closer to Fuji's and as she responded softly to his touch. The scent and feel of his skin was so soothing and yet so tantalizing to her.

"Fuji-sempai, don't ever let me go. I don't want you to…." she mumbled heavily on his chest.

"I never will let you go. Don't worry, I never will Sakuno-chan."

"That's all I ever wanted to know. Oyasumi nasai," was her drowsy answer as her brown doe-like eyes slowly shut the auburn head into her dream world of pleasant dreams.

If she had only hadn't succumbed to the pleasant warmth in sleeping in the brunettes arms, then she would have felt the light feathery kiss planted on her cheeks.

"Oyasumi, Sakuno my love."

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"Tezuka, we're here in the Japanese Pro Invitationals." Ddddttt…..hang up, redial. " Tezuka come over, Echizen's playing any second now." Ddddttt…..hang up, redial. " Eiji, Oishi , Momo and Kawamura are here." Dddttt hang up…again. "Tezuka —"

"Inui-sempai, how many times does Tezuka-buchou have to hang up on the phone? You should just give up and sit down. The match's almost starting!" insisted the dataman's so called apprentice Momo as he snatched the mobile from Inui's hands."Besides you're blocking the view right in front of me!"

"But there's a 0. 000001% chance that Tezuka actually listens after a hundred times of calling. That was the tenth call, I'm so close to a hundred already," he protested stubbornly.

He was about to dial on the phone again when a magazine splatted right onto his face with a sound that went like bang.

"Nya, that's for you Inui! Oishi and I got it at the magazine stand outside the stadium. Read it nya!" wailed Eiji happily with a sheepish grin. He then threw two more copies of the same magazine at Inui's face again. "Those are for Momo and Kawamura! Nya, hand it to them, please. Oishi and I are going to get a bite before Ochibi's game starts!"

With that the kitty-faced Kikumaru Eiji bounded away with Oishi who looked like he was dead tired already from all the jumping around as they disappeared into the crowd of people pouring in to watch the world renown tennis prince's invitational game.

"Ii Data. Eiji's stamina in bounding seems to have improved considerably," Inui noted. He was about to jot that down onto his special notebook when he noticed that he was holding very scandalous magazines along with it. "Data, data, data! Interesting data! Here, Taka-san, Momo, read these!"

"Inui-sempai can't you see that Kawamura-sempai and I are busy debating about sushi and hamburgers – oh what's this?" Momo glanced at the front cover of the magazine. His hand curled into fists as he rose up in indignation, tossing the paraphernalia over to Taka right beside him along with the fired-up Kawamura's tennis racket. "That cocky bastard! Wait till I get my hands on him! I'll make sure he never plays around unfaithfully with any innocent girl's heart any longer, that scrawny brat!"

"BUUUURNNINNG BABY! I'M WITH YOU MOMO! WE'LL MAKE SURE HE NEVER CHEATS ON HIS GIRLFRIEND EVER AGAIN!"

"Chotto. Just where do you two think you're going? The match's about to start," said Inui as he held onto both of their collars. They spun around with angry and annoyed looks on their faces only to be dramatically changed by seeing what the dataman held in his hands. "I want to observe Echizen's movements on court and compare it after he knows about his 'scandal' issue's publication. Ii data. Just wait after the match, then you can beat him up. If you don't wait, then this will be the one waiting for you."

The clanging og the two mugs held in Inui's care and the sight of what it contained was enough to make the two stagger back into their seats.

"Hai, Inui-sempai."

"BUUUUURRRNNNIIIIING! I'M SITTING DOWN! I DON'T WANNA DRINK THAT THING! BUUUURRRNNNIIIING!"

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Thwak. The sound of a tennis ball tearing through a rackets strings while leaving a hole as its mark reverberated throughout the entire stadium as the referee stood up to make the cal.

"Game and match set, Echizen 6 games to love!"

Screams, shouts and more screams echoed out.

"Mada mada dane," smirked the tennis prince cockily. "That was a good game Kagura, demo it wasn't good enough. You have to practice more."

Leaving the defeated player sprawled on the ground Echizen simply walked out of the court with his bag in hand. The guy had obviously been no match for the tennis prince at all even though he was one of Japan's so called 'top players' and a top bragger as well. He had been spouting off during the match how easy it would be for him to defeat the tennis prince, after all he had defeated Atobe Keigo, an extremely strong player. (Pffft. He had had only defeated Atobe because ore-sama got disqualified. Atobe was half an hour late because he would rather continue with his TV commercial about 'how great ore-sama is' than waste his time playing with someone like Kagaru. If Oshitari hadn't dragged him out of the TV set and into the court then Atobe wouldn't have gone there at all.")

It was extremely annoying for Ryome to play with the likes of Kagura, the idiot bragged all the time. It was even more irritating when the idiot would mouth off saying Ryoma wasn't worthy to have Nadeshiko Maaya, saying that if he won he'd steal the girl away from him.

Now that certainly got to his nerves.

Ryoma couldn't help but beat the guy pointless and rip his racket apart with a newer and stronger version of the cyclone smash. If Ryuuzaki had been there in the stands waiting for him then he would have gone a little bit easier with the guy, but poor Kagura she had to attend some concert, so for Ryoma there had been no holding back at all.

Speaking of Ryuuzaki, Ryoma had to call her right now. He missed her a lot and wanted to at least hear her voice. Picking his phone out of the bag, he begun dialing her number. Then he heard the rumbling of high-heeled shoes racing towards his direction and he looked up.

Oh crap. He had completely forgotten about his fangirls and his motto, 'always step out of court with caution' .

"Congratulations Ryoma-sama! You were so amazing!" "Ryoma-sama I love you so much, you were so awesome!" " Ryoma-sama won't you teach me how to play tennis?" "Ryoma-sama!" "Ryoma-sama!"

Che. Stupid fangirls again. When would they ever leave him alone?

They were pressing in on him from all sides and Ryoma found no way out except looking himself back into the court.

They banged on the railings, tried to unlock the latch with bobby pins, and did everything they could to get inside but thank goodness it was to no avail. Sighing in annoyance with a mixture of relief Ryoma sat down on the bench.

"The court fortifications really came in handy. Now they cant get in no matter how hard they try. I'll just have to wait it out until they leave," the tennis prince thought to himself as he stretched in the bench. "I guess I should just nap around for awhile. It'll take them a long time for them to finally go away."

Ryoma was about to shut his eyes when —

"AAAAAHHHH!"

"Ugh," cringed Ryoma as he got up, " What the hell was that – Inui sempai? What are you doing here? And where are those stupid fangirls?"

"I took care of them," came the dataman's reply. He grinned evilly as he lifted a pitcher of his infamous juice.

"And now we're going to take care of you."

"BUURRNNING! YEAH, LET US IN ECHIZEN!"

"Momo-sempai? Kawamura-sempai? Why are you guys here? Don't you have better things to do? And what's with those looks on your faces?" Ryoma asked.

The only answer he got was that of Mom breaking down the reinforced steel door just as if it were made of paper. The threesome walked up to him brandishing each of their own weapons, Inui with his juice, Taka-san with his racket, and Momo with his hard closed fists and all of them brandishing a killing aura.

Usually when people up to you like that, it always meant trouble, but knowing the kind of person Ryoma is with his huge pride and cocky attitude, the tennis prince stood his ground and kept his cool.

He would only run away for his life when he needed to, just like in the reunion when he had been chased down by all the regulars except Fuji.

Ryoma simply observed calmly as they got closer and closer until they stood a few inches from hi, which was near enough for Momo to reach out and grab him by the collar of his shirt.

"Daijoubo ka Momo-sempai? Or has Inui given you too much Aozu to drink?"

"Arrogant brat! You better explain this properly or else! Give a good explanation for this Echizen," yelled Momo in anger. His grip on him tightened as he shoved the cover of the magazine. "What do you think you were doing to Sakuno-chan?"

"BUUUURRRNNNIINNNNG! YOU ARENT SUPPOSED TO CHEAT ON MAAYA-CHAN! YOU SWORE NOT TO! BURRRRRNNIIING!

Ryoma peered at the cover and just as he thought, it was a picture of his kiss with Ryuuzaki on the courts in Nagasaki.

"Damn the stupid paparazzi," he cursed.

"Hurry up Echizen, we don't have all day!"

"Kuso, why are you even butting in my affairs, this is none of your business!"

"Bastard! Don't tell me that you won't care what Maaya-chan and Sakuno-chan will feel when they find out what you've been doing to them, you two-timing little brat!"

"Whatever Momo-sempai! Let me go!"

"No, not until we get some answers!"

"Let me go!"

"Do you want me to call both of them right now? Or should I tell Ryuuzaki that you've only been using her in place of Maaya?"

"Damn it, I've had enough of this already! Maaya and Sakuno are the same person! You baka's I wasn't cheating on anyone!" shouted Ryoma as he pushed Momo away. "Great! Look what you made me say! It was supposed to be a secret. Why are you so angry when you always wanted me to be with Ryuuzaki in the first place?"

"Because Ann-chan surely wouldn't want you to hurt her idol and her friend Sakuno-chan and besides it would be unfair for you to have two — wait, did you just say that Nadeshiko Maaya and Ryuuzaki are – are the same?"

"BUUUURRRNING! USO!"

"Iie data."

The three protested in denial with shock and disbelief.

"Look closer at Maaya's photos sometime sempai-tachi," he grumbled as he walked away. "And don't you dare tell anyone else about Ryuuzaki and Maaaya. I'm going now."

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Kami. Why did he have to have such an unlucky day?

First he had a match without Ryuuzaki by his side, then there were the fangirls and then his sempais.

Surely it couldn't get any worse, or – it could.

Just as he walked to his Ferrari in the parking lot, a blue sedan pulled in; his managers blue sedan.

"Echizen!"

"What is it now Toshigo? I've had a bad day, don't mess with me," growled the tennis prince.

"Didn't I tell you strictly before to tell your relationship bf-gf contract partner to not get caught dating by the paparazzi? Look at how much mess I had to clean up. Bribing the cameramen isn't easy you know!"

"What are you talking about? Maaya is my real girlfriend, didn't you know that already? And what are you giving me? If a porno magazine is what you're giving me as evidence of Ryuuzaki dating someone else, then you are such an idiot." Toshigo hastily grabbed his magazine back and Ryoma grunted. "Che. You remind me of Oyaji and his dirty mind, reading those kind of stuff."

"That's because that was Nanjiroh's magazine, baka. Your father and I are good friends you know. Besides, that wasn't what I wanted to show you . Here this is it," said Toshigo as he pulled several pictures. "Pictures of your girlfriend having dinner with someone else, walking with that someone else, talking with that someone else."

"That 'someone else' is Fuji-sempai, He's her bestfriend, he wouldn't do anything to her," Ryoma shook his head.

"Oh really? But why is it that in this photo they're in bed together? That's too intimate for two bestfriends."

The tennis prince shoved that picture into his pocket and a scowl appeared on his face as he got in his Ferrari.

"Where were those pictures taken?"

"Why?"

"Just answer it."

"In Hiroi Sora Hotel in Tsushima. Why, where do you plan on going?"

Without even bothering to answer Ryoma sped away leaving his manager shouting on the road, "Echizen, make sure you get back in time for the invitational finals and make sure you fix things before you get back!"

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Japanese Terms

Outosan – father

Tensai - genuis

Daijoubo – it's alright

Hentai - pevert

Gomene – I'm sorry

Hai – yes

Iie - No

Kitto Yatta – I'm glad

Uso – that can't be, that's impossible

Honto ni - really

Demo - but

Onigiri – Japanese rice balls

Kouhai - junior

Sempai – senior

ogenki desu ka – are you alright

oyasumi - goodnight

Nani o – what is it?

Buchou - captain

Ore-sama – Ore = me, sama suffix used to express superiority or greatness

Kuso - damn

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**A/N: **Ohayou Minna! Sorry for the late update…demo we just had our first two week of classes and class life is really hectic in our school in the Phil. Gaaah. Homeworks, projects, tests. It's always so annoying, I have limited time to myself. . Plus I've got to audition for the school paper next week and there are the everyday chores that I have to do at home. Okay, I'm not a rich girl, we dont have a maid or something that can hepl around the house. Sigh. Life sure is a drag with all these complications.

Anyways thank you everyone for all your support! ( reviews, favorite story subscriptions, favorite author subscriptions, story alert subs) Really, they mean everything to me. Don't worry guys, there'll be an exclusive thank you note with all your names in the end of the story. ^_^

Oh yeah, and in the last chappie I forgot to put in C: -chan. Gomene C:-chan! And thank you new reviewers, sandstorm-chan, maxyne-chan and valled-chan! It's so nice to know that you guys read and like my work!

So, what do you think about this chap? Gosh I REALLY had so much fun writing this! I can't wait to update the next one, it'll be even more fun, but that should take about two weeks but I'll do my best!

Psst, guys, don't forget to **read and review**!

Well, that's all. Chap 11 coming up! Hey dont worry, chapter 11 will be really, really exciting!

Ja minna, until next time. : P

Fuji's girl


	11. The Kiss

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: If I owned the Prince of tennis, then I wouldn't be writing this disclaimer now would I? No, if I owned the Prince of tennis then I wouldn't need to write one; I could do whatever I wanted to with the Seigaku regulars lives, which includes me having Fuji for a lover but I don't, so boohoo for me, Fuji's fate rests with Konomi-sensei and I can never have him for myself.

**a/n: please be reminded to read and review minna!**

**And oh yeah, becareful, this chap may be rated t – m.**

**Chapter Eleven**

**The Kiss**

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Bright chocolate orbs began to flutter open to gaze upon the warm rays of the sun filtering through the room as Sakuno began to wake up. Turning to the man next to her, she gently pulled herself away from his embrace and untwined her legs from his as she smiled at the sleeping figure.

"Fuji-sempai always looks so peaceful in his sleep," she noticed gingerly. He looked like he was in such a deep slumber and Sakuno didn't bother to disturb the tranquility by waking him up. Crawling out of bed, she found it hard to leave his side. She really was getting used to this kind of set-up quite quickly for only about four days of sleeping next to one another in his arms.

Every night she would always wait in eager anticipation for the brunette to come into bed next to her and envelope her in his warm embrace which unknowingly had become a growing habit for her. Every day on the other hand, she would always wake up with a strange sort of contentment knowing that she would spending the entire day with him.

Today though, she wanted to do something without him helping her. She wanted to surprise him just for once.

Quietly she moved out of bed and did a few stretches before padding out into the kitchen.

"I have to be quick," thought the auburnhead as she clanked around the area for pots and pans. "Fuji-sempai might wake up any second from now."

She was lost to herself in her culinary world as she strived to prepare a fulfilling breakfast that would at least earn a smile and an earnest comment from Fuji.

For him to smile. For him to like what she was preparing. For him to do so sincerely. ( She knew that his opinion saying that he liked what she would do was just for the sake of not displeasing her……that was what she thought she knew of as a fact…..) Somehow the mere thought of such a reward served as her driving force to do more than her best.

In that manner, Sakuno proceeded to chop the vegetables and sushi needed to prepare what she needed to make. She was so engrossed in finishing her work that she didn't notice the person leaning by the door observing her with crystal blue orbs.

"Saa, I guess you're already done with that Sakuno-chan, so I really don't have the chance to help you out anymore. Oh well, that must be what one deserves when he wakes up late. It cant be helped."

"Fuji-sempai, you're up already! Anou, ohayou sempai! Don't worry the wasabi and the croissants area almost ready. If you're hungry then there is some hot milk on the table over there," Sakuno pointed out the table mounding with freshly baked pastries and glasses of milk and tea. " Ohayou Sakuno-chan. Iie, demo I'm not hungry yet. I'll wait for you right here."

The auburn-haired girl shook her head in repose and scooped up the cooked wasabi sushi. Just as she had expected of him, Fuji was playing the gentleman that he was and waited patiently for her to sit down next to him.

"Anou, the wasabi's ready Fuji-sempai."

"Okay, then let's eat now, saa. Itadakimasu!"

"Itadakimasu!"

Sakuno watched in hesitant expectation as the tensai slowly sunk his teeth into the confines of the wasabi. A widening of his cerulean blue orbs indicated he had a good opinion of her work and Sakuno blushed.

"Sakuno-chan, it really tastes good! Honto ni dayo!"

"I-Im glad you think so Fuji-sempai……. I don't want to make something repulsing for you….or something that tastes repulsing either."

"Saa, you've never made me repulsing or disgusting food Sakuno-chan. Ever since the first obento you made me for the opening of classes to the time you gave me onigiri on graduation day and up to this day, I've never thought that you're cooking was anything less than scrumptious. It's really true Sakuno-chan. I've always loved the bentos you would make me. But then I was shipped off to college and then, well, you just stopped making bentos for me," complained Fuji.

"Eto Fuji-sempai, that was because I didn't want to get in the way of your studies in college and besides….anou….I was really busy that year," quipped the auburnhead.

"Hmmm, busy you say? Saa, so that was the year when you started singing on stage. Ne, how were you discovered Sa-chan? I never heard your singing voice back in high school. You really tried to hide it from everyone, and considering that you managed to hide it from me quite easily, the person who busted you out must have been a skilled person. Saa, tell me how you were recruited Sakuno-chan."

"Eh? How do you know that I got recruited that year sempai?" she squeeked with a blush. Kami, how come her sempai had to be such a genius? Really, she wanted her story of recruitment to be kept a secret. It was a very embarrassing story.

"Saa, it was just a presumption based on your statement Sakuno-chan. "Anou, do you really want to hear it still Sempai?"

Fuji nodded his head with a smile. The girl gulped quietly, the flustered look on her cheeks quite evident. "Eto, then….I'll tell you it then. It went like this. I was walking alone in the park singing 'Honto no Jibun' to myself. I thought no one was around. I really liked the lyrics of the song and its melody that U was totally unaware and oblivious of my surroundings…."

"Then?"

"Then, anou, I tripped on Sakamoto Maichi who was sitting down by a fountain…..and got her wet…dakara apparently she had heard me singing so instead of getting mad at me she asked me to sing for her…..and well that's how I got recruited. Kya! It's so embarrassing! Not only did I trip on Japan Music Industry's most prestigious producer, but I also drowned her in a fountain as well!" she whined in complaint at the embarrassing recollection, holding her hands up to her face when she felt large hands clasp around hers and pull hers away from her eyes.

"Zenzen, it isn't ridiculous at all Sakuno-chan. There's nothing to be embarrassed about," she heard her sempai's voice whisper into her ears. "To me that was the most unique recruitment story anyone could have. Could you sing a song for me Sakuno-chan, even for just a while?"

"Right here, right now?"

"Hai."

Looking into his expectant blue eyes, Sakuno opened her mouth to sing when ―

Ring, ring, ring!

"Anou, Fuji-sempai, isn't that your digital organizer ringing?"

"Saa, never mind that. Please continue."

"But it might be important."

The tensai heaved in defeat and dived into the pocket of his pants as the girl looked on in worry. She hoped there wasn't any bad news for her sempai.

After peeking at the gadget, she noticed a hint of irritation in his eys and was about to ask him what the matter was all about when suddenly she found her sempai throwing down the organizer and smashing it into pieces on the floor.

"Sempia!"

"I'm not attending that meeting. I promised myself that I'd listen to Sakuno-chan sing and then take her to the beach. I have no intention of breaking that promise," said Fuji. "Even if I'd have to lose my clients and get into trouble, I would never break the promise I made to the person that I care for the most."

Without thinking, Sakuno got up and wrapped her hands around his shoulders in a tight embrace.

"Please….go there sempai. Don't let me be a burden to you," she pleaded. Fuji's eyes widened as she pulled away and looked up at him. "Please."

The girl tried to ignore the beating of her heart against his chest when the tensai cupped her chin, pulling her face closer in response as she begged one more time.

"Please sempai."

Her heart rate began increasing drastically when their faces inched closer and closer, Her mind slowly melted as it waited in anticipation of what might be a kiss and she closed her eyes, only to feel his lips on her cheeks a few seconds later.

"I'll do whatever makes you happy."

Fuji walked out of the room, leaving Sakuno touching the light dampness his lips left on her cheek.

"Saa, sing for me later okay?"

Sakuno nodded her head obediently and smiled as she neared the kitchen door to lock it behind him. _"Anou, maybe I should write a new song to sing for him as well."_

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" Akatsuki Company Inc., Kazemachi Industries, Nannimo Naranai, Shiawase no Niji and Mada Shiawase Mite Company are all aware of the terms and regulations that will be bestowed upon them once they decide to join the Aoi….."

Blah, blah, blah. All Fuji Syuusuke, the President of the Aoi Yama group of companies, could think of right now was that ― blah, blah, blah ― he wasn't listening at all. His mind was somewhere distant and far.

"Sakuno-chan," he murmured silently. "Saa if there hadn't been any convention right now, I would have been spending my time with her. I don't want to squander our precious time together on useless grievances. We only have a week – no, scratch that – I only have a week to with her and then after that she'll be returning into the arms where she belonged, Echizen's arms.

'_Echizen' _ he thought sourly.

Why did such a cocky and arrogant brat have to win such an angels heart?

Fuji wanted to keep the lad within a thousand meter distance radius away from her, not more, not less. But Sakuno-chan loved Echizen and Fuji could do nothing about that. He loved her too much to take away her happiness in self-centered greed, because she was his everything.

All he could do now was enjoy his week with her. After that, it would be the end of it. He would be left to a miserable Sakuno-chan-less life, left only with the memories of the way he held her against his chest every night, the way she fit so perfectly molded on his body, the way she smiled up at him every morning.

Saa, sometimes it was really hard for him to stay on the bestfriend forever boundary, especially when your bff is the angel sleeping down right next to you. Undoubtedly, he had to admit that. The thought of breaking that line was always taunting him so often, especially during the night when his body hormones urged him to do things to her, to take her breath away and satisfy his craving for her.

Sometimes it really was hard to fight the strong urge to kiss her senseless, just like what happened moments ago.

Really, she had nearly kissed the auburn head on the lips in the kitchen. Good thing he had come back to his senses and angled out on her cheeks instead.

"Anou, excuse me, Fuji-sama, the meeting should be adjourned by now."

"Saa, I see. Are the paper works and contracts fine Mukihawa-san?"

"Hai, Fuji-sama."

"All well and good then. I'll be at my room if anything else is needed." Fuji stood up to leave but then one of the residing officers also stood up and stopped him.

"Matterunda , Fuji-sama. The meeting may be over but the dining reception is still waiting for your presence," the employee stated, bowing down in respect as he did so.

"That's right Fuji-san. You have to join us and have some lunch. We want to know more about the young son of Fuji Otogawa who has taken over the Aoi Yama's reigns at the age of 20," added in an elderly lady the representative of Kazemachi Industries.

"Yes, we would like to know more about the new President who has increasingly doubled the size of the profits of the renown Aoi Yama Company. Even we, the great Akatsuki Company, once known as the greatest independent company in Japan have been put into such awe that we decided to join the Aoi Yama group." Agreed Kizukeyo-san at his right.

Fuji pretended to smile and nodded wordlessly.

"_Damn, and I was just about to get back to Sakuno-chan too.I really wanted to listen to her singing and these people just had to get in my way," _were his irritated thoughts that he hid behind his smiles.

" Eto, alright then, shall we proceed to the dining hall? I presume that there's a table being prepared there already."

"Hai, Fuji-sama."

They went down to the restaurant to eat lunch. The course wasn't that bad, but Fuji knew that Sakuno could cook better than that.

Conversing with the business people wasn't that bad either. They all had pleasant chit chatter but when compared to a day with the sweet doe-eyed girl, socializing with business partners became crappy and charred.

Yeah, it really was a drag to not have her by his side but boring businessmen instead. Add that to the fact that they were the only customers in the restaurant. ( They had reserved the entire juncture for their convention's reception.)

Gah, this dull day was really pushing him to the limit right now.

"Mukihawa-san, don't we have any entertainment for our guests?" the tensai asked dryly.

"Don't worry Fuji-san," spoke up one of his partners. " The Shiawase No Niji has booked a celebrity singer to serve as entertainment in the commemoration of our company's second binding renewal of the contract between it and the Aoi Yama."

"Celebrity Singer?"

The woman representing the Shiawase No Niji pointed out towards a prepared stage which suddenly lit up with rising curtains to reveal a complete band. There were drummers, guitarists, pianists, back-up singers and – where was the lead vocalist?

"United companies under the Aoi Yama, we would like to present to you, in a one-time only singing concert request, Nadeshiko Maaya!"

Fuji was rather surprised and so was the ebony-wigged girl who was walking up to the microphone amidst the applauses and howls of her small audience. Obviously when she had told him before that she was told by her father to sing for a company even, she had no idea that it included his company as well.

Never the less, the tensai conjured up a happy smile directed towards the girl who was looking and blushing his way.

"Anou, konnichiwa minna-san! Eto I know this may seem as quite a surprise for all of you, but let's all get down to business shall we ne, and have some fun this time!"

The singer's eyes looked uneasily towards the tensai as he watched in amusement the blush darkening her cheeks.

Her small audience agreed with a nod, unaware of the gaze the singer was giving to a certain someone among them.

"Alright then. This song is a new single that I've written this morning in dedication to a very special someone in my life. He asked me to sing a song for him this morning but I wasn't able to so here this is instead. Sempai this is for you…."

_konna ni mo tooku he futari wa kite shimatte_

_ano koro no_

_osanai kimi no hohoemi ni mou kaerenai ne_

_kimi ga warau sekai ga suki de_

_soba ni itai soredake _

_wasurekaketa itami wo mune ni_

_Time goes by_

_toki no nagare wa futari wo kaete yuku keredo_

_nakushita mono mo yume miru mono mo _

_sono te wo totte omoi dasu yo_

_itsumo kimi no soba de_

_kanashii koto sae oboete okitai kara_

_kimi no chizu ni_

_watashi no tame no PEEJI wo nokoshite oite ne_

_mirai kara fukitsukeru kaze wo_

_kimi wa ano hi shinjita_

_ashita wa motto takaku maiagare_

_Time goes by_

_toki ga sugite mo kitto kawaranu mono ga aru no_

_todokanai kara mitsuketai kara_

_yume no tsubasa wo sagashi ni yuku_

_soba ni ite ne zutto..._

*A/N: THIS PART IS THE INSTRUMENTAL PART

"Saa, Sakuno's voice, it's so beautiful." Fuji was absolutely entranced, mesmerized by the song and the singer. He didn't notice the waitress who accidentally caught the lacings of her shoe onto the leg of his seat.

The girl tripped and fell, right on top of Fuji's lap, blushing with frantic 'gommenes' as she tried to get up. Everyone's eyes were on the ebony-haired woman singing up stage and nobody noticed the waitresses' blunder – or so Fuji thought.

_soba ni iru yo------------------- zutt------eeeeeto!_

Thud. The audience watched in horror as the microphone dropped on the ground. The singers arms limped down at her sides and her face became deathly pale.

"Sakuno-chan!" Fuji rushed to her side, not caring whether he knocked the waitress off of him recklessly in the process. "Daijoubo ka Sakuno-chan?"

"Anou, sempai, I-I'm sorry. I - I didn't know what came over me. Eto, please don't worry about me. I'll be fine. The show must go on."

Fuji's hands clasped around hers as he lead her off stage.

"Fuji-sempai! Where are you taking me? What about the meeting, the audience? Don't you care about it sempai?" His grip on their intertwined hands tightened as he continued leading her out of the restaurant.

"No, you're not feeling well Sakuno-chan. I wouldn't care if the whole world came to an end as long as I could save you. I don't care what my clients say, the meeting, or anything else because Sakuno-chan the one thing that I care most about in this world is you, Sakuno-chan, you. Now come on, let's go back to the room. I'll make you some tamago soup so you'll feel better, okay?"

"Hai," Sakuno nodded her head with a blush.

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Sakuno sat up on the bed and pulled her legs closer to her chest. Grabbing a nearby pillow, the girl stuffed the thing in between her legs and chest and pulled it closer to her.

She couldn't help but keep on thinking about what Fuji had said earlier.

"……because Sakuno-chan, the one thing in the world that I care about most in this world is you…" his voice was like a resounding melody that dotted the words with life in the innards of her beating heart.

Those words surely meant that he simply care for her as a friend but it struck something in her she couldn't understand. The mere thought of the word care nearly gave her an eminent feeling of….love? Gah, what was she thinking again this time? And kami here was this blushing again.

"Anou, maybe I should walk around the room and stretch. Maybe it'll shake a little bit of this irrationality out of me," she thought as she got out of bed. "That shock upstage, and these stupid feelings, confusing feelings are making me flustered. I-I need to get rid of it. Fuji-sempai will be through with the tamago soup any minute now. Ouch! Eto, what's this box doing under the bed? Huh?"

The auburn head crouched to open the box….and what she could see inside made her eyes widen in surprise.

"Sakuno-chan, the Tamago soups ready! Sakuno-chan! Sakuno-chan?" Fuji's head popped out of the kitchen to find her squatting on the floor. "Oi, what are you doing over there Saku-chan? Sakuno-chan?"

The tensai walked over to the auburn head who stood up to face him with a large cardboard box in her grasp – his large cardboard box.

"I can't believe it sempai. You've been keeping these things for such a long time already? The pictures you took of me in high school, some pics that I never knew you had taken and others from the summer vacations we spent together…..but why are they all photos of me? Where are the ones you took of the regulars? Eto….and you also have still the Sakura flowers I gave you in the resort…..you even had them preserved. Do you really like collecting pieces of the past sempai?" she asked with a smile as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

He was about to open his mouth and answer when all of the sudden something heavy or someone rather bumped on him and toppled him down.

"Eh! Gommenasai sir, maam, if I was interrupting anything! I'll be heading out!" was the cry of an ordinary room service lady. She headed out the door with a bang but Fuji didn't bother to notice any of it at all.

All he did bother to notice was the girl right underneath him.

They were separated only by a few millimeters and Fuji could almost feel their lips grazing each other and kami…..he could hardly contain himself.

"Sempai," she whispered. Now he really couldn't stand it anymore; her voice just sounded too inviting for her to resist any longer.

"No, Sakuno, I don't enjoy collecting pieces of the past, I enjoy making moments with you and most of all having memories of you."

"Why?"

"Well, let me show you why."

"_Kami Fuji-sempai's about to kiss me! But Fuji-sempai's my bestfriend and what about Ryoma-kun? And……."_

Her thoughts began fading away.

Sakuno closed her eyes as her heart beated faster and faster. A wave of emotions exploded inside of her as she felt the warm touch of his lips. All her thoughts melted into a pool of warm hazy fog as she eventually and slowly began to respond to the kiss.

His lips were warm and gentle, playing on hers like a whisper. But then his desire became deeper. Cupping her face with both of his hands, he locked in on her and asked for entrance.

Surprisingly she did not fail and disappoint the moment. She gave him entrance and let his tongue explore the recesses of her mouth, tasting her thoroughly as she twined her tongue around his as well, sampling its sweet taste that sent her begging for more and more. Sakuno could feel jolts of electricity jilting her entire body when the once slow and steady intimacy of lips became deeper and more passionate.

She heard a moan and wasn't sure whether it was from him or her. All she knew was that it felt so right to be with Fuji like this, that she wanted this moment to never end. Without even will to, her hands moved on their on and unbuttoned his shirt, snaking up and down his muscular chest.

All the waves of emotions inside of her poured out through her kiss and she gasped in surprise when Fuji broke away gently, panting and out of breath.

"Sempai, don't stop...." she moaned.

She was surely intoxicated by him completely because the sober her would never do this sort of thing with her bestfriend or say things like that and so was the brunette who was looking down at her with burning desire in his cool blue eyes. Grinning bewitchedly he grazed a light kiss on her lips.

"Then forgive me Sakuno, coz I don't plan on stopping. You're just too hard to resist. I love you Sakuno, I love you. Forgive me, but it's the truth," whispered the tensai solemnly as he began to unbutton her blouse to reveal the blushing girl's slim yet curvaceous waist and her full and ample breasts. The kisses he playfully showered up the softness of her chest to her arching neck sent shivers running up and down her spine, and the way he tenderly caressed her jaw line with his moist lips drove her mad with passion.

Now it was her turn to tease him.

Smiling seductively, the auburn head licked his lips with her small pink tongue, tempting him to take the lead as she sucked at his lower lip. Her smile widened when her claimed her lips as his own and twined his tongue around hers in a play of French kisses. Mindless of what she was doing, Sakuno rolled the brunette as they continued the fiery kiss so that now she was on top of him and was about to unhook his zipper, but then he rolled her off of the bed and looked down at her with a serious look in his eyes.

"Are you sure about this Sakuno?"

The coy grin on her lips was enough of an answer from him.

Diving in for another sweet, mouth water kiss, his hands moved down to her waist and slithered her skirt off of her.

"Damn it Sakuno, I don't care about what Echizen and all the rest would think. I love you this much, I can't take it anymore. I love you Sakuno, I always had, please tell me that you love me too," his cool beautiful voice played across her face as she waited for an answer.

"Sempai," her true feelings began taking control. "I-"

BANG!

"GET OFF OF MY GIRLFRIEND YOU BASTARD!"

The couple looked up at the open door with shocked expressions on their faces, and a shameful look in the girl's eyes as she froze in place.

"Ryoma-kun? What are you doing here?"

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Sakuno wrapped the cloak clinging around her a lot tighter as she cowered with tears in her eyes under the glare of her boyfriend standing tall on the beach.

No, he definitely didn't look all too happy.

She could understand that; who would look overjoyed after finding out your girlfriend just made out with her male bff right before your very eyes? Of course if she were in his place she'd be as mad as a bun but still she couldn't help feeling the tears rolling down her cheeks. She wasn't crying because Ryoma found out.......she just couldn't forget it all. It felt so right, so good to be with Fuji.

'Ryuuzaki, you better explain this to me or else you and I are through," his voice was cold and angry. "Don't lie to me about anything. The paparazzi already caught you red-handed and I caught you red-handed. Why have you been sleeping with Fuji-sempai?"

"I- we weren't sleeping with each other Ryoma-kun! We just slept next to each other...that's-that's all." she reasoned meekly as she focused down on her toes that squiggled listlessly on the fine grains of sand with tears dripping down her face."Stop lying to me Ryuuzaki. There are pictures of you and Fuji in bed next to each other caught by the paparazzi, and I saw you making out with my very own eyes." the tennis prince's voice quavered then softened as he faced away from her. "I love you Ryuuzaki, so you don't need to lie to me. Just tell me the truth. I never expected that it would come down to this point.....I always knew you loved him, but I always thought it would be nothing more than the love of a friend. Just say it to me in the face. Tell me who you really love."

_I love ...... Fuji-sempai? Not as a friend but as a man?_

"I-, Fuji-sempai...."

"Say no more Ryuuzaki. I understand more than you know. Because I love you this much.....I'm letting you go..."

"Huh?" Sakuno asked in confusion but when she looked up at him Ryoma had already begun walking away from the teary eyed girl.

"Crying doesn't suit you. If you really aren't happy with me, then you don't have to force yourself. Goodbye Ryuuzaki. Goodbye, atashi no koi."

"Ryoma-kun!" she cried out as she watched on in confusion her boyfriend leaving her behind.

Little did she know that she wasn't the only one watching everything going on.

Two pairs of eyes were watching her every move, each pair unaware of the other's presence. If Sakuno had noticed one pair of eyes that tailored cerulean blue orbs, then she would have recognized him as Fuji who walked away grimly.

"Should I say sayonara too my love?" his bare voice whispered in the wind. "Because I'm afraid that I won't be able to see you anymore…."

With that the silent spy left away leaving the auburn head to lay down on the sand and sort through her thoughts and leaving her to the prying presence of the mysterious stalker that continued to observe the girl without any interference at all.

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Ryoma Echizen scowled sourly as he waited for his chauffer to pick him up.

Of all the possible outcomes he had thought of before he came to Tsushima, why did the worst one have to turn into reality? His girlfriend had fallen in love with another man, no scratch that, now his ex-girlfriend rather, and there was nothing that he could do about it.

He couldn't blame her, he had always known that she had feelings for her sempai, but he had never knew to what extent, and he had hoped that she would forget Fuji and learn to love him more.

It was that stupid sempai's fault, causing her to feel those things and all.

The tennis prince wanted to take Sakuno back but when he saw the tears dripping down her cheeks he couldn't bear seeing her suffer alongside him any longer. His expressions softened when he thought about the crying girl and he sighed.

"Cheh," he muttered somberly.

From now on he would turn back to tennis and it would be all that would matter to him. Relationships, love, girlfriends, he was giving up on them all. He'd be a bachelor till the day he died. It didn't matter to him anymore anyway. Ryuuzaki wasn't his anymore.

"Why's you do it Echizen? I thought you loved her too much to let her go?"

Echizen's face returned back to a scowl as he turned round to find a figure standing next to him on the parking lot where he was waiting.

"What is it to you Fuji you bastard? It's none of your business to tell me what I can and cannot do," he hissed darkly.

"Saa, I'm just curious as to why. Besides I'd like to ask a favor of you Echizen, if you don't mind."

"What favor?"

"Saa, I want you to forget about everything and take Sakuno back in your arms again. Onegai. It's my fault, I kissed her. It was an accident, Sakuno never meant any harm. She loves you Echizen, don't hurt her by pushing her away, onegai," Fuji asked. It was a strange sight for Ryoma to see the tensai down on his knees but still he shook his head in the opposite direction, despite his sempai's pleas.

"No."

"Saa, doushite? Are you that angry with Sakuno-chan? It isn't her fault!"

"No."

"Then tell me why."

"Because you're wrong you stupid bastard. Ryuuzaki doesn't love me…..she loves you. Haven't you realized that already?"

Fuji's eyes went wide as the words tried to sink in to his head,

"Love?"

A wan smirk took over Ryoma's lips as he turned away from his sempai and hopped into the black Ferrari that already came in the parking lot.

"That's up to you to find out. After all, you are the genius, Fuji."

With that the tennis prince sped off, hoping that Fuji would know what to do…..and that nothing would go wrong. Nothing should go wrong……just for the sake of Ryuuzaki.

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"Fuji-sempai, during that kiss, said that – said that the one he had loved all along was no one else but me," Sakuno murmured to herself as she pulled her legs closer to her chest. She could feel the bark and an absentminded blush crept up her face.

Now that she was left all along to herself Sakuno could enjoy the serenity and peace of mind as the puzzle pieces began to fit into place.

Love – was the reason behind it all; the reason why Fuji cared so much, the reason why he would protect her at all costs, the reason why ha had kissed her like he did.

She could understand it fully now.

It wasn't because he was her bestfriend that he did all those. No, it was because he loved her, not as a friend but as a woman named Ryuuzaki Sakuno for who she truly was.

She felt so elated, and happy that a light bubbly feeling popped into her very being, overwhelming her with its intensity. It was a feeling that sent her heart racing in time with her cheeks burning feverishly, her lips aching for his, her heart pounding for his presence.

"What is the name of this emotion? What do I truly feel for my sempai? I-I want to understand it now. I want to know." she thought.

Before she would always shove those feelings because they would always confuse her so much but now she was ready to face them head on. Could this be what people call desire?

The auburn head shook with a no. She had to admit that she longed for his physical touch but it wasn't just that. It was beyond physical desire. Friendship? The more she thought about it, the more she understood that a friend would never desire their friend physically. Like? Sakuno closed her eyes. Hmmm….yes, she did like her sempai but this emotion was stronger more intense, deeper rooted than a mere attachment or liking.

She realized that she wanted to be close to him always, to be with him day and night, twenty-four-seven, to share in his joys and in his sorrows, to be his pillar of support, to be his confidant.

"I always knew you loved him…." She remembered Ryoma-kun telling her before she had gone. "Love him…..love….."

Love? Was that what this emotion was called? Was it love?

But she had thought that she had never felt something as strange and as complicated as this, not even with Ryoma-kun whom she had thought she had loved.

When Ryoma was around her, Sakuno could control her emotions. When Fuji was there, her heart would always go berserk. When Ryoma-kun would kiss her, she would only feel a little surprised with none of the feelings that had surged through her when Fuji was the one taking her lips. When Ryoma left and broke up with her she had felt nothing at all, but when Fuji had left her in the Hokkaido International Airport she felt like her very being ws ripped off of her person.

Why were her feelings so different for the…….Then it struck her.

"Because Ryoma-kun was right. Because the one I truly love is Fuji Syuusuke –sempai, eto, no, it should be Fuji Syuuusuke koi. Yes, he's the one that I love. He's the one."

Silently she thanked Ryoma for opening her eyes and letting her go to be with Fuji as she got up with an ethereal smile.

There was nothing that could stop her now. She was free to tell Fuji of her love. She was free to be with him forever. She was free to kiss him longer. She was free to drown in his love, and him in hers together.

Picking up her pace, the auburn head began to run in search of Fuji Syuusuke-sem….no…Syuusuke-kun. Hmmmm……she really had to get used to the kun and drop the sempai, though it would sound awkward at first and –oof!

"Itai!"

"Anou, I'm so sorry sir. I wasn't watching where I was going. Here let me get that for you!" she apologized profusely at this man dressed in black sprawled on the floor as she bent down and picked up the open folder next to him.

"No, miss, please let me do it!" countered the man.

But it was already too late.

Sakuno's attention was caught by the words in the file and her eyes met the man's in horror.

"You – you! I know you. You're one of my father's spies. This is an assignment sheet. Why were you sent to spy over me?" she frowned at the man as she looked at back at the paper. "And it says here that you're objective is to –"

Sakuno slammed the folder shut and shoved the man who as at a loss for words for being caught.

"NOOOO! WHY? THIS – THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"

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Japanese Terms

Hai – yes

Iie – no

Daijoubo ka – are you alright

Doushite – why

Honto no Jibun – Real Self

Outosan – father

Tensai - genuis

Daijoubo – it's alright

Hentai - pevert

Gomene – I'm sorry

Hai – yes

Iie - No

Kitto Yatta – I'm glad

Uso – that can't be, that's impossible

Honto ni - really

Demo - but

Onigiri – Japanese rice balls

Kouhai - junior

Sempai – senior

ogenki desu ka – are you alright

oyasumi - goodnight

Nani o – what is it?

Buchou - captain

Ore-sama – Ore = me, sama suffix used to express superiority or greatness

Kuso - damn

Kun – prefix used to denote closeness/ attachment

San – formal prefix

*Special thanks to anime for the lyrics of the song Yume no Tsubasa which I used as Sakuno's song in the restaurant. You can check out the translation there if you like. ^_^

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**A/N: **I'm so sorry minna for the late update! School really is tying me down A LOT! *sigh* There were the everyday tests, the assignments, then the auditions. I've been really booked recently. So please forgive me….I've been too busy these past weeks….and there was that tiny writers block too. At least I tried my best.

So what do you think minna? Is it alright, or was the kissing scene too descriptive? That was my first time ever to write a kissing scene, and I think I should rate it pg or something higher…..don't you think? XD

Anyway's tell me what you think minna. Good or bad reviews are alright for me, but please do review okay? I don't want to impose but it breaks my heart to see no reviews. Oh yes, thank you everyone for reviewing chap 10! I really loved them by the way….don't worry the thank you note will be coming soon.

Special thanks to Jedz! Thanks for reviewing, you don't know how much it means to me! Oh and that goes out to everyone as well, Goldenchan(hehehe^_^ upgraded) Rebecca-chan, Sandstorm-chan and everyone!

Well then until next time! Chapter 12 coming up!

Fuji no onna

(Japanese of Fuji's girl ^_^)


	12. Precarious Revelations

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: What's the sense of writing a disclaimer if not to disclaim something that you don't own? Well, if I owned the Prince of Tennis I wouldn't be writing this disclaimer now would I ?No, if I owned the Prince of tennis then I wouldn't need to write one; I could do whatever I wanted to with the Seigaku regulars lives, which includes me having Fuji for a lover. But I don't so Fuji will never be mine. WAAAAAH! (sobs somewhere in a cramped corner in the ends of the world…wherever that is.)

**Chapter Twelve**

**Precarious Revelations**

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_The hospital door opened creakily and a weak-looking auburn-haired woman opened her eyes wanly._

"_Anata….Fuji-san….thank you for coming…." Sakura gave a weak smile at the two men walking into the room and yawned sleepily as she embraced the soft pink baby sleeping next to her._

"_My bestfriend's daughter was being given birth, how could I not come?" chuckled Fuji Okinawa. "She's a girl right?"_

_Sakura nodded her head._

"_She's beautiful!" the father fawned in pride. Gently he took the girl in his arms and embrace. "My beautiful baby girl."_

_The sound of the door opening interrupted the beautiful father-child moment and all turned round to find an elderly woman limp into the room with a cane and cute young boy with light brown hair skipping after her._

"_Ah, Ryuuzaki Akuma-san,"_

"_Aunty you came!" Shino's eyes sparkled in delight._

"_Of course I came. I wouldn't want to miss this for the world, right, ne Syuusuke-kun"_

_The little boy who was approximately two years old nodded his head in delight as he approached Sakura's side._

"_Obaasan Akuma, come on, the baby's right over here with Uncle Shino!" he exclaimed in a hushed tone. He had always known that shrieking inside a hospital room with a newborn baby sleeping was forever prohibited._

_"Coming Syuusuke-kun, coming! Don't get too excited, little boy!" laughed the old lady. " You know he was so excited in coming here earlier, Okinawa-san. I hardly kept up with him!"_

_"Eh, is that so? I hope my little son didn't get you into much trouble, did he Akuma-san?"_

_"No, no of course not! Stop talking as if the Fuji's and Ryuuzaki's havent known each other for years already, Okinawa-san! We're like family, you know, family. So, then, where's my little baby grandchild?"_

_Shino smiled proudly as he gently handed his child into the arms of his aunt._

_"So this is my baby boy huh? What are you planning on naming him, Shino? It's a sad thing you're mother isn't here to see this, but then again she said that she'd be coming tomorrow after the match with Hyotie, so there's nothing you should worry about," babbled the old woman. Leaning her head on the baby's head, the old woman gently planted a kiss on it's cheeks and sighed. " A baby boy huh? Ever since I've been married into the Ryuuzaki family I can't help but notice that all of the Ryuuzaki offspring are male. If it were only a girl...."_

_"What do you mean aunty Akuma?" Shino tilted his head in confusion._

_The entire room drowned in silence, waiting for Akuma to speak._

_Even little Fuji Syuusuke was quiet. Being a child, as far as he knew grown-ups had these sorts of talks and whenever they would it would always be important. So said his mother actually. Being the innocent chibi child that he was ( A/N: he wasn't a sadist yet, but he was a genius from the start! ^_^) he would always listen to what his mother would say, so he kept as quiet as he could._

_"Aunty?"_

_"Oh well," she sighed,"I might as wel share it with you. Ne, Shino, haven't you noticed that there haven't been female Ryuuzaki's by direct blood?"_

_The young spectacle-eyed brunette put his hand underneath his chin and thought about it for a moment._

_"Hmmmm....come to think of it, you were sort of right, Aunty Akuma. Most...maybe all of our direct bloodlines are male - but now you're wrong - because my little baby is a girl - my perfect baby girl," Shino shook his head as he scooped his child back into his arms. "And if all of the Ryuuzaki's were male...then I'm proud to say that my perfect little baby is a girl, the first Ryuuzaki to be a girl."_

_" A girl? What?"_

_The shock on the woman's face was pretty evident. _

_Out of curiousity at the wierd faces she had on, little Syuusuke couldnt help but tug at the old woman's skirt and innocently ask, " What's wrong Obaasan? Is there anything wrong if the baby is a girl?"_

_"A girl?" she mutter again as if in a daze. "Then the agreement - the agreement can now be fulfilled. She...she's a girl......and Syuusuke....a boy.....the contract can now be finally fulfilled! Syuusuke-kun, Shino, Sakura, Fuji-san, dont you know how long Yasuke and all of us have been waiting for this moment to come? All of us! Finally, the day has arrived!"_

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Ryuuzaki Shino snapped his eyes wide open and proceeded to sigh.

"The agreement, huh?" he muttered to himself quietly. " I can still remember that day clearly. Oh well...that day's the reason why I'm doing this in now in the first place."

With a determined gleam in his eye, the president of the Shiawase no Niji swiveled his chair around to the front of his desk. Facing the desk was a woman in a 'hotel services' uniform completely done in the casual loli-shota style of the regular black dress and white apron of regular maids in service. In her arms was a folder which she handed in on the desk of her directive employer with a very smug grin.

"So did you complete the assigned task Yoshida-san?"

"Pfft," she huffed with a flip of her hair, "Don't forget that you hired the BEST of the best, Ryuuzaki-sama. 'You have to be absolutely _**perfect**_ ," those were your exact words when you hired me. 'If you aren't perfectly meant for the job, then you aren't fit to work for me.' You made us undergo rigorous training and sifted out the survivors. Only three were left as unfired corporate spies of the Shiawase no Niji. My original work, if you clearly remember the contract, Ryuuzaki-sama, was to spy on possible threats to the company and expose them – not to babysit your daughter and play matchmaker!"

The black haired woman was fuming. With that she slumped onto the nearest couch possible and crossed her legs indignantly.

"Maa, maa, Yoshida-san, you'll get that death-defying assignment you wanted soon enough,"

"Really?" her eyes lit up.

"Of courser – as soon as you finish this one," smiled Shino in return. Flimsily, the elderly man skimmed through the file while the woman whined in complaint, disappointed at the turn of things.

"Don't worry, daijoubo, daijoubo, Yoshida-san. I'll just have to finish reading this assessment report file, ask you a few questions and then you're off."

"Great! Finally! Even if it was your daughter I was matchmaking, the assignment was getting just a tad too boring for my style! It was just toooo easy!" she jumped off of the couch with a new energy burning inside of her as she met her employers now irritated gaze.

"Ne, Yoshida-san, can't you see I'm still reading here? Do you mind? I haven't even finished the first five pages yet you're already acting as if I'm through with it all. I might as well as postpone reading this file and make you wait," chided Shino with irritation.

He had already had enough of this girl's brazen attitude.

She really needed to quiet down a bit so he could concentrate on the file. This was his daughter's future at stake, her love-life at stake. He knew that what he was doing was dangerous and and he just couldn't afford to make any mistake.

"Gomene, gomene!" she waved instantly,"Don't worry, I wont be bothering you anymore. I'll just go to the comfort room and change clothes for a moment. Be right back! Ja!"

Hurriedly, the agent snatched up her small duffel bag and disappeared into the restroom built into the office while her boss watched her walk away.

"That girl really is fitted to be in her position as an agent but sometimes though her lust for adventure can become rather annoying at times," he noted. " I should be sure to send her in the most dangerous mission tasked and give her what she wants."

Shino then returned back to assessing the results marked in Yoshida's file carefully, fingering and contemplating thoroughly every minute detail until he came to the last page of the folder.

Not completely satisfied with with the words in the report, Shino put the file down on his table with a half-doubting look on his face.

"Hmm...not bad...not bad at all. Everything was completed, all of the tasks accomplished, and all of the objectives et out in order, but still....I need to have some more certainty in the least."

Tap,tap,tap.

"Finally. Being wrapped up in those sorts of frilly maid's rubbish can be so unnerving. Haaaa...it's so good to be back in my good ol' uniform. That loli-shota rag was so itchy and warm. I wonder how those unfortunate little ladies can wear such an insufferable frock!"

The old president raised his eyebrows speculatively at the corporate spy as he looked up to gravel into his employee's eyes like a stern school teacher armed with his rapping stick, ready to flaunt at her with questions of his sharp judgment on her in any second.

She on the other hand, just stared back at him as if nothing were happening at all. Walking up to the couch, she propped herself comfortably without a sound.

"What?"

"I've finished reading the file Yoshida-san and as expected you were competent and finished it well but...." he trailed.

"But what?"

"But I still have to jot this down in my checklist."

Yoshida grunted in aggrevation as her employer purposefully rambled around for his checklist in his old drawer which made the scowl growing on her face grow even deeper.

After two or three minutes of rummaging through the drawers, Shino finally found the list lying on the desk right in front of his very eyes and a smirk creased his wrinkled cheeks as soon as he noticed the enraged blaze in the agents searing eyes.

Obviously she wasn't too happy to have bee kept waiting and Shino just rolled his eyes with a tinge of triumph after making her suffer.

"Taku, whenever did Okinawa's sadistic side rub off on me," he wondered placidly, "Oh well, never mind that, but still..."

"Hurry up Ryuuzaki--- I mean Ryuuzaki-sama—I can't wait like this forever you know! I mean, come on, you must need someone to get to that new assignment as fast as you can. Time flies by speedily you know!"

Shino just shook his head at the young employee as he picked up the list and pen.

"Sometimes I wish you were more patient like Ike-san, Yoshida-san. You may be one of the best, but your feet itching for danger may sometimes lead you in the worst directions you know. Now, where was I? Ah....yes...the checklist. Hmmm – objective one, check, objective two, check, objective four, ---check. Well, it seems that you've completed everything that I told you to do." muttered Shino as he continued checking.

"So does that mean I can go now?"

"No, not yet."

This made Yoshida sink into the couch a second time.

"I have to ask you a few questions first before I let you off the hook. Yoshida-san, did you make sure that you could notice that Sakuno-chan was head over heels in love with him before you left? You're a woman and I know that you've been in love before so I know that you can certainly recognize a woman in love when you see one. Did you make sure that she showed affection towards him and him towards her? Yoshida-san?"

Yoshida wrinkled her nose and pouted as she glared at him irately.

"Of course! What do you think? I pushed them around in a maid's outfit, set off the mood and watched them canoodle like high school teens on their first make-out session. It sure did look like it and I even have snapshots if you need to be convinced further. Here take it."

The scrupulous elderly president seized the pictures from her hand and scanned through every detail of each snapshot until he was fully satisfied that none of them were photo-edited.

"Perfect, perfect! Now I know the wedding can undoubtedly push through. You can go now, Yoshida-san."

"Wait, what about that big assignment you promised me?!"

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Here, take this file and hurry along to find Ike-san. It's a two-man mission and it's going to be a tough job to dig up this leak. You may find yourselves in a quarry, but I know that it's nothing that you can't handle. I want the two of you to get down on it immediately, understood Yoshida? Just wait outside the corridor for Ike to come back from his mission. He'll be here any second now, so don't worry."

Shino dropped the current assignment into her hands and then rolled into his large swiveling chair with a contented countenance, overlooking the black-haired singer who looked all too happy being assigned with the toughest mission. She didn't mind if she'd have to share it with Ike, she enjoyed having his company and he had already proven his expediency.

Both employer and employee were feeling light; Shino had his plans running smoothly on ice while Yoshida had everything running the way she wanted it to.

Everything was just flawless – well, it was – for a moment.

Because the moment the female agent touched the handle of the office doors, Ike stepped in looking panicky, battered, and pale.

"Ike! What happened to you? You look as if you've been running for a hundred miles. Did the target catch up on you or something? Or maybe you got chased down by some suspecting rival? Oh, oh I know! I bet a dog though you were his chewtoy and gave you that shameful outfit to wear! Hahahaha!" she teased laughingly out of habit.

Ike however, passed straight past her, ignoring every word she had said.

"Hey, Ike!" she stomped her feet, trying to get his attention.

She thought he was just being stupid…..

But then she saw the agonized expression lingering on his face.

But then she and Ryuuzaki-sama heard the distressing words 'I failed' tumble out of his mouth.

And that was when they understood the gravity of it all.

"Sakuno-san has found out about everything, Ryuuzaki-sama."

"WHAT?!" shouted Shino, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets in utter devastation.

As if on cue, the alarm system then went off. The sounds of the alarm beating down on the entire edifice as red and blue lights ran all around sent may of his workers in a frenzy.

"Ryuuzaki-sama!" a guard burst into the room. "Our security vaults have been breached! Vault 02 has been invaded by an intruder!"

"_All that's inside that vault are the hard copies of the report sheets and the wedding documents of Sakuno-chan. What sort of person would want anything from Vault 02 when nothing involving the company status is in it?"_ Ryuuzaki Shino thought wildly as his legs raced down to the secret elevator which would lead to the vaults.

Not far behind him were Yoshida and Ike pouncing at the chance of catching whoever the hell that was in the vault. The three-some went as wildly as they could with Ryuuzaki Shino panting all the way.

"Ryuuzaki-sama, please, stay behind! You too Yoshida! Be careful! We don't know what kind of person is inside this room or what they could possibly want with us," warned Ike as he checked out the digital security box. "They could be dangerous! Look, they must know about the security number, so there must have been help from the inside. Stay back!"

"Oh shut up Ike!" Yoshida shoved her co-agent aside with a push.

The black-haired woman smirked as Ike tumbled by the weight of her force and silently crept inside the room.

"Don't forget, Ike, ladies first. Loser."

Shino watched as his agent took advantage of Ike. Moments later she came back out, looking at him with urgent eyes.

"Ryuuzaki-sama, I think you have to come along and see this."

Nodding the president followed the agent into the room and into the second vault, apprehensive of who or what he could find. And oh kami…he really did have a good reason to be apprehensive.

Because there, just sitting in the middle of the vault wasn't the type of person he had expected to see.

No, he wasn't a thief, he wasn't a spy, he wasn't a hooligan. He wasn't even a 'he', but a 'she', and the 'she' being his one and only daughter.

Her arms were shaking. Her lips were quivering. And her blood red eyes were tired of crying.

"I -I thought — I thought at first – that—that it wasn't true – but – but then I came here – and – and found out that it was. Four days – in four days from now I'm going to be m-m-married to someone – someone whose name I don't even know. I— read it all – every single detail—all except his name – his name. I-I don't know him, I—I don't love him, I don't, I don't ……"

The look in her wet eyes was gut wrenching and the hurt wrapped in her trembling voice scattered across the vault. Shino didn't know what to do. His daughter was crying rivers of tears and it was his fault.

"Sakuno-chan I –,"

"No! I don't want to hear it! I CANT take this anymore! I just cant!"

Sakuno picked herself up quickly and ran out of the vault, leaving them all behind, not bothering to stop and look back. She didn't want to listen to any of those horrible words anymore, not any of it.

Watching his daughter run off, Shino could just groan in remorse.

Bending down, he picked up the folder at his feet and flipped through the pages absentmindedly, his brain trying to filter out what exactly had happened.

"Everything was flawlessly planned, everything was so perfect….so how…." He muttered lowly. "I never saw this coming."

"I'm sorry sir," Ike bowed down his head in apology. "I didn't mean for her to see any of the file. It's just that she stumbled on me, saw the file, picked it up, and read it before I could stop her from finding out."

Shino turned away grimly from Ike's face in disappointment and faced Yoshida instead.

"You, go and catch up with Sakuno-chan. Do your best to make her understand. Use any method if you will, but don't tell her the groom's name."

The agent dashed off but was stopped by her employers grabbing hands just before she reached the door.

"And Yoshida, don't forget. Do it PERFECTLY."

The girl nodded and went to go.

With only one agent left behind, Shino massaged the temples of his forehead with his knuckles and turned to leave, afraid that he might blow up if he faced the blundering fool Ike for even just a little bit longer.

"As for you Ike, I don't know what to do with you. Just hope that Yoshida can manage to turn my daughter around or else the entire plan, no, the entire Fuji-Ryuuzaki promise will be broken and then I'll have to make you regret what mistake you did."

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Streamers. Balloons. Dancers. Friends. Acquaintances. Bands. Great Music. Great Food. A beautiful spot on a mountain-view hotel booked especially for the occasion.

They were the ingredients that were supposed to make up a memorable, regret-less, and splendid bridal shower but right now it was far from being the wild, fun and care-free event as everyone would expect it to be.

Well, maybe it was only just her, because everywhere she'd turn everyone was dancing, smiling, enjoying themselves and most of the time congratulating her.

Her father had certainly spent much to prepare a bridal shower as elaborate and as classy as this.

He had even ordered Juda's belt and draco fireworks to snap off and spark up the night later. He had even set the rendezvous of the occasion on his private mountaintop hotel with a balcony by the edge of a cliff overlooking Seishun city where the girls could all see the fireworks better.

Well…maybe it was his way of compensating her for all that he'd ruined in her life and love life, maybe it was just another corporate matter.

Just like her arranged marriage.

"It's all for the sake of the company, so please understand,"- so were the words of that Yoshida agent he sent her.

So very surreal, corporate, and glorious were those words to her – speaking in the most opposite terms exactly.

Company this, company that.

Well, though, be the reason for preparing the bridal shower as such be due to either compensation or company obligation, it really didn't matter anymore to Sakuno. There was no way she was going to forgive her father for arranging her marriage without even telling her, the first person to be involved in such a scheme; tell her that she was tied to someone else, tell her that she could not fall in love with another.

Sure, sure, Sakuno could understand that the marriage was for the sake of the company and that as Ryuuzaki Shino's one and only daughter and heir it was her obligation to respect her duty. What she could not comprehend was why, her father, the man she had always respected and revered did not tell her of her 'obligation' beforehand.

It would have saved her from the inevitable pain she was feeling right now.

Kami, she really felt like crying right now just thinking about it.

Because it hurt, it really, really hurt to be in this kind of situation she was in.

Before the tears could begin to well up in her eyes and cause a commotion, Ryuuzaki Sakuno stood up from where she had been sitting quietly in the party.

"Sakuno-chan, where are you going?"

The auburnhead bride-to-be turned around to find a blackhaired woman facing her with worried eyes. Kazumi. She had been one of her highschool friends and Sakuno wondered if she could confide in her.

Sakuno shook her head mentally and sighed.

They hadn't been that close to each other and she wasn't sure of Kazumi would understand.

"Ah, Kazumi-chan," she faked a smile, "You don't have to worry. I'll be just gazing at the stars out on the balcony for a while. Oh, can I ask you a favor first?"

"Of course!"

"Anou, if Anne-chan or Karumi-chan comes, would you please tell me? It seems that those two haven't arrived yet."

"Sure, no problem. I'll make sure that you'll be the first one to know if they arrive."

With that Sakuno did not hesitate to hurry out to the balcony, far from the noisy craze in the party where she could just look at the stars and cry her heart out.

"Just look up at the stars, whenever you're sad," she sniffled, leaning on the jealousies for support with her eyes still fixed on the stars, trying with no avail seek comfort in the seeming warmth of their glow. If all the more, looking at the stars only made her cry all the more instead of comforting her. They reminded her too much of the person who advised her to look up at them in the first place. He was the person she truly loved most, her one true love.

Fuji Syuusuke.

She loved him with all of her heart and yet she hadn't been able to tell him of her feelings and now – there wasn't any possibility that she could tell him at all.

How could she?

Tomorrow she was getting married. It would be too late for her to confess to him. It would just hurt him and hurt her the most if she did. She wanted to tell him, she wanted to see him smile for one last time, but …but there was no way that wish could be ever granted without getting him and herself hurt.

The only way to Fuji close enough was by remembering him and everything that they've been through together.

Rubbing her teary eyes, Sakuno looked up overhead at the heavenly creations for solace. Memories began to flood her mind. She recalled all those precious moments she had spent with him; the time he rescued her from drowning, the midnight walk under the sakura tree, the kiss they shared – his confession.

Fuji had always been there for her in good times and in bad, supporting her in everything that she did even if it would hurt him in the end and she wondered why it had taken her so long to realize that he loved her and that she loved him back.

"Right now, at a time like this, he would've probably taken me far away from the noise and found a way to cheer me up. He would probably have taken me to a sakura tree, or along to the beach, or – or he would just as me to cook bear-shaped wasabi to get things off my mind," she chuckled, a small twinkle smiling in her eyes. She giggled weakly, lifting her hand to cover her mouth.

"Thinking about him really hurts a lot – but still it is unusually….comforting. Just imagining him pleading for a giant bear-shaped wasabi ball from me lifts my spirits up considerably. 'Saa, please Sakuno-chan!' he would've said," Sakuno smiled gently.

Turning her head back to the room where all her guests were enjoying themselves, Sakuno eased a bit.

Mabye it was time to get back inside….

or maybe not.

Her phone was ringing in her bag, the caller probably one of the two friends she had long been expecting. She was really wondering where her bestfriends were when she needed them. The call most likely would be an apology and then a promise for compensation, or something of the sorts.

"Moshimoshi? Is this Karumi-chan or Anne-chan? Where have you been? I really needed to talk to you a while ago –everything's – everything's been hard – and ugh…I've really had enough crying Karumi, Anne," her voice rasped into the speaker.

"Moshimoshi. Iie, this isn't Karumi. It isn't Anne-chan either, demo I think you're right Sakuno-chan. From the sound of your voice it seems that you've been crying for quite a while. Has it been like this eversince you left Hokkaido without telling me? Saa, care to tell me? I can ease all your sorrows away, saa,"

"F-f-fuji?"

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'Breaking up with someone you've loved deeply for so long is never easy. Getting over that person is never that simple either. Every little thought, every little place, every little moment that both of you shared in the past is not easy to remember without hurting deep inside. Recollecting such things is unavoidable and at the same time painful and excruciating to do. Sometimes in some cases, it becomes so painful to the extent that a person would begin to hate and slowly that hate would turn into a bubbling desire for revenge.'

'Thus I warn you dear audience, the best thing a girl should do in these kinds of situations would be to move on. Forgive and for— ,'

The monitor automatically shut off.

Throwing away the remote to the side of the bed along with the blankets she had been wrapped up in, a blue-eyed lavender-haired girl forced herself out of it and trudged along to the night stand.

Her red and puffy face creased into an ugly scowl as she grabbed the small sheet of scented paper on top of the night stand.

"Forget?" she eyed the words on the paper invitation before crumpling it in her hands indignantly. "How is it possible to forgive and forget when _**she **_ was reason behind it all? The person who had taken him away from me?"

Suddenly, amidst her fuming whirls of anger swirling in her mind, an idea whisked into Karumi's pretty little head. Instantly she smoothened out the paper. A sinister aura radiated in her blue eyes as she lost herself in her plan for vengeance.

"There's no way this plan can go wrong," she smirked.

Washing her face and drying her eyes, Karumi got herself ready to go out. There was still so much to do – after all, she was invited to be the bride's maid in Sakuno's wedding to him – which would soon have no 'Sakuno' in the picture.

Soon, soon Ryuuzaki Sakuno would be gone and now Karumi didn't care if the woman were her bestfriend or not.

"Dear Karumi-chan, you are cordially invited to be the bride's maid of Sakuno in her wedding to Fuji Syuusuke…blah,blah,blah," she read mockingly. "Sakuno no baka. You chose to wrong woman to mess with. I may have been your bestfriend but there's no way I'm backing down."

Picking up her phone, Karumi dialed the number at the back of the invitation.

"Moshimoshi. Hai, this is Sakamoto Karumi. Hai, hai, I'll take the invitation. Could I get the details like time, place and etc.? The ones you put here in the invitation weren't that specific. Ah, I see, thank you. Isn't there a fast-current river near there? Ahuh, I see, thank you. I'll hang up now – wait, what do you want to tell me? I'm not supposed to tell the bride the identity of the groom and vice versa? Why? Oh – family tradition. Don't worry I wont," she hung up and walked out of her condo. "I'd rather do something better than that."

With that Karumi tapped her high heels away into the night. There were some things she needed to prepare to 'do better than that'.

"Hmph. This makes things even easier," she smirked.

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**Japanese Terms**

Anata – darling

Obaasan – grandmother

Hai – yes

Iie – no

Sakuno no baka – Sakuno you idiot

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**A/N: **Hey, minna! It's been quite a long time right? Yeah, a month without updating really is long. *sigh*I'm sooo terribly sorry that I had to make you wait this long, I was just too busy with life and school. ( Whacks herself on her head for being tardy) Anyways the first quarter exams are over so I finally had the time to post this.

By the way this chapter is a repost of the original chapter 12. Well, I had to revise the whole chapter because the plot wasn't going where it was supposed to go and the characters of Sakuno and Karumi were so overboard in it.

This time I patched the whole thing up and you'll find that it's totally different from the first chapter 12.

To all my reviewers, thank you very much! You don't know how much you're reviews mean to me, both good and bad reviews!

The reviews help me improve my writing skills and I'm glad that some people take their golden time to critique my work and tell me where my flaws are. Don't worry, I will try my best to improve all the more. ^_^ I'll make better fics with stronger Sakunos because I do have to admit, the Sakuno in my fic is a tad bit too dense.

Ne, minna, please don't forget to read and review!

Oh yes minna, please check out my other fic, **In an Undercover Romance**

I just posted it but you'll be sure to find a lot of adventure and romance in it! Really I swear! Why? Well, because Fuji's turned into a singer with a tradgic past and Sakuno is an agent that steals him away from his glamorous world and brings him to her own. Cool isn't it? Yeah, yeah, it still has Ryoma in it, with Sakuno being his girlfriend but then Sakuno and Fuji will develop on each other and well….just check it out!

PS. Special thanks to my beta-reader Silkstar-chan for pointing out my mistakes. You were right, this rewrite is better than the first one! : D


	13. Garden Weddings

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: Putting the sign 'disclaimer' definitely means that you're trying to disclaim something, not say that it's your own. What's the sense in writing a disclaimer if you're trying to do the exact opposite? Okay, so the point is; The Prince of Tennis isn't mine. Never has, never will be, but oh Kami, how I wished I could have Fuji. Still, I don't so don't fuzz about it.

**Authors Note**: Please keep in mind that Tezuka is a bit OOC in this chapter. Don't mind it; I just had the sudden urge to do something different with the poor ever-stoic guy. (Doesn't he ever get tired of being serious? My point exactly. )

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Garden Weddings**

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The moment spectacle-eyed Tezuka Kunimitsu stepped out of his private car, a grunt escaped his mouth. Standing in front of him was a whopping four-hundred-step staircase narrowly winding up to where a group of young, shriek, mascara-smeared fangirls were waiting excitedly for him to walk up and pass them by.

Great.

Hand it to fate to throw in some fangirls as a tip for coming to his friends wedding.

Keeping his calm and cold exterior intact, the former Seigaku Tennis buchou glided across the four hundred steps without breaking a sweat. Not bothering to notice anything about his fangirls, except, well of course their high-pitched screetches (who wouldn't be able to notice their own eardrums popping?), Tezuka walked past the girls, wincing slightly as he entered the gate where the wedding was supposed to be held.

"Nya! Tezuka-buchou, finally you've come! Nya, nya buchou, tell Oishi that he shouldn't try to stop me nya!"

A familiar tuxedo-clothed kitty-faced acrobat glomped Tezuka from behind. The other members of the club soon followed after him; Oishi running in to try to pull Eiji off the unhappy buchou, Momo and Kaidoh zapping electric sparks at each other, Kawamura BBUURRNNIINNGG after them, and lastly Inui who was feeling the flowery walls of the garden blindly without his glasses.

Tezuka's eyes twitched once, then twice, and then thrice.

Kami….just a few seconds ago he had to deal with fangirls and now them. Couldn't kami give him just even a few minutes of rest?

He had already made all those ball boys of his run a hundred laps back at home…….he didn't want to order a hundred more here.

Oh no, don't get me wrong. Tezuka Kunimitsu was nowhere near softening up – he was just tired of seeing people run laps so slowly like madmen. They were all so slow, and it was taking too much of his time for the past few days.

So instead of shouting out laps Tezuka took the other best option. He ordered Eiji off his back as calmly as he could and faced his former tennis team with his normal stoic expression.

"Nya Buchou!" whined Eiji as he landed with and 'oof', " What'd you do that for, nya?!"

While Eiji was rubbing his aching head damaged from his fall off of Tezuka's back, the other members of the team held their breaths back, waiting for the judgment call. Unexpectedly for them, Tezuka didn't shout out his 'run laps around …..'. Instead he looked at all of them seriously in the eyes.

" What's the problem with all of you minna? Have you all let your guard down?" Picking up a seat, Tezuka looked at them for answer and then continued on, " To think that all of you are letting your guard down on Fuji's wedding too."

"That is absolutely unforgivable minna."

Eyes shifted around from one to the other as his teammates gaped.

"Buchou, you won't make us run laps? Nya?" blurted out Eiji in reprise.

Tezuka gave a slight shake of the head.

"No."

This left all their mouths dropping five feet more down to the ground in shock. Tezuka twitched and furrowed his brow at their response and then continued saying, "But I will if you don't explain. So do so and make it quick and reasonable."

"BUUUUUURRRRNNNNNINNNNNG!" Kawamura flagged his racket in the air. " I DON'T WANT TO RUN LAPS ON FUJIKO'S WEDDING DAY! I'M SORRY MINNA, BUT BUCHOU'S RIGHT! I DON'T WANT TO DISGRACE FUJIKO'S FAMILY NAME!"

"BUCHOU! IT WAS EIJI'S FAULT BUCHOU! HE WAS THE ONE WHO STARTED IT ALL! BBBBUUUURRRNNNINNNGG!"

Kawamura's outspoken and extra-loud confession caught the attention of the other guests but he didn't care. Oishi nodded his head in agreement, much to the utter dismay of the other half of the Golden Pair, Kikumaru Eiji.

"That's right Tezuka, I really tried my best to stop him, but Eiji wouldn't listen. He even stole away Inui's glasses while bouncing so that Inui couldn't throw him the bucket of sushizu to stop him!" Oishi wiped the beads of sweat that had accumulated on his skin from all the running earlier.

"Sushizu?" the buchou cocked his brows.

"Sushi Aozu…..its Sushi Aozu Tezuka. My Sushi Aozu….." despaired Inui, raising his hands in consternation. "My prized possession…."

With wide innocent eyes, the criminal stood up in his own defense.

"Nya! I wasn't planning to break Inui's glasses nya, nya! I just wanted to help Fujiko out. I wanted to tell him the truth. Can't you all see how sad Fujiko is sitting over there nya? He doesn't even have a clue that he's actually marrying his beloved Sakuno-chan nya, and he is really depressed about it," he argued. "Minna, you all heard from Ryoma-chi four days ago how much Fujiko loves our little Maaya-chan and how much she loves him back. Nya, as Maaya-chan's fans nya, and as friends of Fujiko nya, we have to make sure that Maaya-chi and Fujiko's wedding pushes through. But at this rate nya, with Fuji on the dumps like this, Fujiko might bail out on the wedding nya!"

"We have to tell Fujiko the truth nya!"

"Iie! NO!" chorused the entire team. Eiji was about to run off and tell the tensai anyway, but luckily Momo had been there to snatch Eiji by the collar before he could slither to Fuji who was sitting in a chair waiting for the ceremony to start.

"NYA! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU NYA?! DON'T YOU ALL CARE ABOUT FUJIKO?!" Eiji squirmed with all of the muscles in his body.

Tezuka walked up in front of the struggling offendor and sighed heavily as he adjusted his glasses. He guessed he had no other choice to make.

" Eiji," he addressed as calmly as he could . "I want you to —"

"Go and tell Fujiko the truth?"

"No. Go run twenty laps before I add some more Eiji Kikumaru. I Tezuka Kunimitsu will not permit you to ruin the Fuji-Ryuuzaki promise."

"But Buchou!"

Handing in Inui his glasses that were taken by Kikumaru earlier, Tezuka walked off and left Eiji to his gruesome fate.

"Ne, Inui. You know what to do," ha paused before leaving.

"Hai," Inui's glasses gleamed. Out of the blue, a pitcher of Sushizu mixed with luxurious worm bits popped right into Inui's grasp, ever sparkling so brightly in the dataman's hands.

For Inui, revenge couldn't be any sweeter.

"NO!!!!!"

Tezuka observed nonchalantly from his front seat an aisle away from where Fuji was seated as he watched Eiji run his laps with all the potential energy he had inside of him while the dataman Inui was not very far behind him.

The other four of his former teammates were back doing whatever it was they had been doing. Momshiro and Kaidoh were back at their eternal brawl, Takashi Kawamura at his BBBBUUURRRNNNIIINNNGGG cries and Oishi at his motherly anxiety.

Everything was back to normal.

Shaking his head in repose, the former tennis buchou turned around to look back at the blank-expressioned Fuji.

He was certain that Fuji was feeling betrayed right now, but if he had let Eiji go and tell him the truth then the Fuji-Ryuuzaki promise would have been broken and then who knows what would happen. Both Shiawase and Aoi Corporations might back out on their deal and then Fuji and the Ryuuzaki girl wouldn't be able to be with each other.

Well, they might still though, since that last condition of not giving the bride and grooms identity was petty. It wasn't important enough to be a reason to break the couple off, and Tezuka was sure that the condition didn't matter that much to both groups of parents.

But still, Tezuka and all the other guests who were told about the condition were made to swear under oath not to tell Fuji or Sakuno a word about it.

Tezuka would not break that oath and neither should his teammates. If the condition were to be broken, then it shouldn't be by them but by surprisingly Tezuka had this nagging feeling that destiny still had so much in store for those two.

He and everyone else would just have to watch and observe.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

"Obaasan!" Sakuno cries startled.

Clutching her bouquet of roses closer to her chest, the bride hid her face as she turned her eyes down to her shoes.

She just couldn't face her grandmother like this, not now, not ever.

She couldn't stand in front of her obaasan as the bride of an absolute stranger.

"Sakuno," noted her obaasan, "You look beautiful, my mago-chan…..the semi-traditional kimono suits you well my child….but those downcast eyes are unbecoming for a bride as beautiful as you. Tell me what's wrong child?"

The auburnhead lifted her eyes to meet her obaasan's and noticed that the woman was in a gown too, plus the dress was so pink and frilly that Sakuno couldn't help but smile a bit.

"Iie, nothing's wrong obaasan, you look beautiful in that dress too," she smiled some more, giggling softly.

"Hmph, your father forced me to buy this stupid thing!" she grumbled scornfully. The recollection of how she was blackmailed into doing such a thing made her knit her brows in fury.

"So pray dear child, don't look so sad," the old woman's expressions softened and with that Sakuno found her grandmother moving to embrace her, a gesture as rare as white dodos between she and her obaasan.

Patting the girls head comfortingly, Ryuuzaki Sumire held her granddaughters shoulders and put a kiss on her forehead. Sakuno's eyes widened further in surprise. It wasn't often for her grandmother to do something like that either.

"Ne, don't worry Sakuno-chan. Everything will be alright. Daijoubo, daijoubo," she whispered into the girl's ear.

Nodding her head, the bride looke on as Sumire patted her head with an understanding look in her eyes and then left herself in the empty dressing room.

"Daijoubo? Daijoubo?" she sighed once Sumire was out of the room. " How can I be alright obaasan? Oh Obaasan, if you knew the truth. I know that you want to understand, but still if you really did obaasan, then I know that you would've at least tried to find a way to unravel all of this stringed mess I'm tangled into. Oh obaasan…"

Kami, she really should have just given up on hoping moments ago….no, he should have stopped hoping altogether days ago.

All hope was just futile now.

It was her obligation – of course – she should have just stopped dreaming on puffy clouds, imaginary dreams where she believed that she could run away from her duty. She should have melted naively over the idea that a fairytale twist could save her.

Her parents couldn't stop it, her grandmothers couldn't stop it, — and her beloved Fuji-kun could stop it.

Well…..actually….she didn't want him to.

Sakuno didn't want to drag him down into this misery just because of her.

Fuji deserved all the happiness in the world, and she just loved him too much to rip that away from him.

That's why she hung up last night…..and that 's why she should be dashing all of her imaginary hopes to the ground.

The wedding was about to start in an hour, there was no time for her to hallucinate and conjure up dreamy illusions anymore.

Sakuno was about to lean against the glass window and close her eyes for a while to rest when all of the sudden she found herself pummeling outside the window.

"Ittai!" she rubbed her head while groaning.

"Thank kami that it was only the first floor." Sakuno muttered meekly as she brushed herself up.

A wave of pleasant surprise overcame the soon-to-be bride and for once today a true smile shoveled her face.

"It's, it's so beautiful," she muttered in disbelief.

Trees, daffodils, irises, pansies, flowers and plants of all sorts sprung up around her in this magnificent garden that simply took her breath away. The place was absolutely beautiful and stunning the with way the setting sun scattered its rays across the place made it look absolutely gorgeous; spectacular to be more precise even.

Sakuno could not believe how she could have overlooked this utopia that had been staring right in front of her all along.

Breathing in whiffs of the sweet flower-scented air, Sakuno could feel her pain easing away from her mind.

"Anou," she looked back at the open window of the room, "It wouldn't hurt to take a short walk…..after all the wedding isn't in two hours. I won't take long."

Slipping off the lustrous yet pain-inducing heels off, the girl frolicked with her bare feet while she carried her shoes.

She noted the beautiful serenade of the birds among the trees and looked up to see a couple of white crests singing to each other, obviously done out of love. Sakuno smiled and continued to walk on.

She wondered.

_What would the male bird do if his partner had been taken away from him and put in a cage? Would he try to find her and save her, no matter what? Or would he just die away of sorrow?_

Sakuno knew that some birds like lovebirds would die if their partners were taken away from them.

It was amazing to her that love could have such a huge consequence and effect, even on animals. She was glad that those pair of white crests hadn't been separated from each other and she wished from the bottom of her heart that they never would.

_Swooosssh._

Looking back up, the auburnhead noticed the pair of birds flittering away.

A small voice in her head told her to follow them and listlessly without further ado, the girl ran off in their direction until her feet could take it no more.

"Wait!!" she cried after them.

Panting, Sakuno pouted at the flopping out of sight. She was about to head back to the room but then her eyes moved and saw what was in front of her.

Her feet instantly stopped in its place.

"There's a….a path here?"

A cobblestone path lined with rosebushes and alternating marble pillars graced her eyes. Sakuno took a step on the path and suddenly a scene flashed across her mind.

_A five-year-old boy, athree-year-old girl. They were walking hand in hand. They were smiling and the boy bent down to kiss the girls cheek…..and…… they both were on the same cobblestone path "Anou…."_

A warm feeling suddenly filled up her chest but Sakuno instantly shook it away as nothing.

"It must just be my imagination," she muttered under her breath.

She had this strange feeling that she had known this place, but she was absolutely sure that she had never been here before…..this place was never linked in any of her memories.

Taking a few more steps along the path, Sakuno then noticed the faint sound of running water loaming across her ears.

"_Follow it, Sakuno-chan,"_ the voice inside her head said again.

Nodding, the girl walked on, arms at her side as the sound of water flowing across the rocks in its path got stronger and stronger. Then finally at the end of the path Sakuno had finally reached what she had been looking for.

Running before her very eyes was a magnificent and wide river.

Connecting both sides of its banks was a wooden bridge that framed into an arch.

"Anou, my shoes!" she exclaimed out loud as she watched her shoes falling into the water as it was pulled by the fast river current. She had been leaning on the wooden rails of the bridge when an ant bit her arm, making her drop the shoes in her hands.

"Mou! What am I supposed to do now? What should I do?" panicked the girl.

"Yes Sakuno, what _SHOULD_ you do?"

"Wait, this voice —," she turned around. "Karumi-chan! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting ready? Why aren't you in your gown? You're supposed to be a bride's maid you know!"

Karumi walked closer and closer, a sinister smile playing across her lips.

"Oh, I'll be getting ready soon," she answered, " But you know Sakuno-chan…..you really did me a great favor. I was the one supposed to lead you here. You saved me a whole lot of trouble by coming her yourself, you really did."

Karumi leaned on the rails beside Sakuno and the auburnhead tilted her head to face her lavender-eyed manager.

"You didn't come here to call me back like they asked you to?"

"No."

Taking both Sakuno's hands in hers, Karumi faked another smile.

"I came here to ask another favor from you…..and the only answer is yes or yes, whether you like it or not."

Sakuno furrowed her brows in confusion but decided to play along anyway. After all, she trusted Karumi as her bestfriend not to do anything foolish — right?

"Anou, o-okay. What do you want me to do, Karumi-chan?" she asked.

"This."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Before Sakuno could even move, Karumi had already taken a pair of cuffs from her pants and cuffed both of Sakuno's hands together. It was all done in a split second and Sakuno's eyes widened in shock as her face paled.

"This is the favor I wanted to ask from you Sakuno-chan. I want you to disappear from Fuji, from me, and from everyone else in this world. Sakuno, I want you to disappear FOREVER."

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

Fuji Syuusuke frowned as he fiddled the phone in his hand aimlessly.

"Shoul I call her again? What should I do? Oh kami…tell me…" he buried his face in his hands.

He hadn't seen Sakuno ever since that day he had asked Ryoma to take her back after Fuji accidentally kissed her.

That day Ryoma had told him a frank 'no', saying that Ryuuzaki Sakuno wasn't in love with him but with Fuji.

So, with his hopes up the hill, Fuji searched for her high and wide all around the hotel premises. He needed to know whether it was true.

But after several hours of scrounging around, he hadn't even seen a single strand of her hair.

Not even an ounce of her auburn-colored keratin!

Fuji had tried everywhere but he couldn't find her at all. The receptionist at the hotel's front door had informed him that Miss Maaya Nadeshiko had long since checked out — and that she was crying while she did.

"She seemed to be in a very tight glitch. Maaya-san was in such a hurry that she even just left her luggage for someone else to pick up," whispered the receptionist quietly, " I was even able to ask one of her suites from her without any delay!"

Now this made Fuji all the more troubled and he would have called her right there and then had not his father called him back home.

Boy was he in for a surprise….

He had absolutely no idea that he was getting married at all to someone he did not even know. When the words spoken by his father finally sunk into his brain, Fuji hyperventilated. Oh yes, Fuji was as mad as hell!

He would have never let his father do this to him….never.

If only the old man hadn't blackmailed him into it, saying that he had already talked to his beloved Sakuno-chan about Fuji's marriage to someone else. He even made him believe that Sakuno would never see him again if he put up a fuss.

The mere thought of such a pitiful excuse made Fuji furious but knowing Fuji Okinawa…..the brunette utterly had no way out.

It was his 'obligation', his 'duty, cough, cough…' and dammit his Father just had to be the typical traditional Japanese businessman he was. Fuji had tried running away but time after time the Aoi company field agents all took him back.

He wasn't even allowed to call Sakuno, not until after the wedding.

Oh, but he tried, he tried.

The guards that his father put up weren't that easy to pass by. Lucky for him they had potty breaks and so he had been able to call Sakuno for even just once after the four days of torture he had been through without her.

Sigh…the sound of her voice made him want to see her all the more…

He could tell that she had been crying. His blood had begun to boil as he heard her sniffles from the phone and he sincerely wanted to break someone's neck right now.

He would chop off the offender's head if her could.

How dare that person make his Sakuno cry!

Seeing that he had no means to decapitate the criminal right now…Fuji relented to merely asking her about what happened instead ….but then…she hung up on him.

Kami, his father had this much power didn't he?

To be able to control Sakuno-chan too!

What kind of man was he?

He wasn't even this assertive about his wishes before….in fact Yumiko-neesan was more domineering than him. He really must be serious about this pact, because the old man even used his " sick" trumpet card over him.

"_Cough, cough, cough. Syuusuke, cant you obey your dying father for once? Ne, are you that cruel to your sick outosan?"_

But now…..right here, right now in this garden wedding stadium, an hour till from the ceremony, Fuji had to make his last stand.

His outosan's 'Im-sick-do-as-I-say' attitude wouldn't stop him now.

Well, actually the brunette had no idea on what to do….but he most certainly could not sit around and do nothing when his love was in the line. He wouldn't let anything stop him now.

Standing up from his seat, Fuji Syuusuke looked right across only to find himself staring into the grey cornea of a very familiar old woman.

"Ryuuzaki Akuma Baasan? What – what are you doing here?" he eyed her suspiciously. He really hoped she wasn't influenced by his father to stop him as well....he really liked Akuma-baasan even if he hadn't seen her in quite a while these past years.

The old woman smiled forgivingly and patted his head.

"Ah, young one, I am here because of fate, you need not worry."

All of the sudden, the cerulean-eyed brunette heard a shriek of someone calling his name – whose voice sounded all too much like the his one and only auburnhead girl…..

Fuji shot Akuma a questioning look tinged with anxiety.

"Ne, Baasan, did you hear that?" his voice was hurried as his eyes looked up to the elder one for guidance.

Akuma shook her head once but soon smiled afterwards.

"Iie, demo, it must be fate's call. Go Syuusuke-kun, go after her, hurry! You don't have much time to lose!" she said. "Go!"

Without waiting for another word, Fuji began running like the wind across the place towards the bride's refreshment building.

He really didn't know where he was going or why his feet were taking him there but something was calling him….and his anxiety that it just might be the girl he had been looking for drove him to run faster.

It was strange how he had that odd feeling that Sakuno was the one who shouting out for him and that she was in danger.

Barging into the dressing room, he noticed the open window and jumped out. Without even thinking he ran across the garden in full speed until he came to the cobblestone path where he stopped.

It was getting darker by the minute yet he could see the rosebush-lined path with eyes as clear as day.

"I-I've been here before ―,"

"Iie! Karumi-chan please, don't do this!"

Kami! That voice! It really was Sakuno, his instincts were right!

Fuji didn't wait for a moment's hesitation and dashed across the path, stumbling at times because of the lack of light.

_Sakuno needs me._

Ignoring the pain of each stumble and fall, Fuji ran on and doubled his speed until finally he burst into the setting sun's beseeching light at the end of the path.

"Sayonara ne, Ryuuzaki Sakuno…itsumo sayonara."

"No! Please…Karumi….you wouldn't do this! Karumi! Someone help me!!!!"

In slow motion Fuji froze as he watched in horror at what was happening right before his very eyes.

"Sakuno-chaannnn!!!!! NO!!!"

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

Japanese Terms

Hai – yes

Iie – no

Daijoubo ka – are you alright

Doushite – why

Honto no Jibun – Real Self

Outosan – father

Tensai - genuis

Daijoubo – it's alright

Hentai - pevert

Gomene – I'm sorry

Hai – yes

Iie – No

Kitto Yatta – I'm glad

Uso – that can't be, that's impossible

Honto ni - really

Demo - but

Onigiri – Japanese rice balls

Kouhai - junior

Sempai – senior

ogenki desu ka – are you alright

oyasumi - goodnight

Nani o – what is it?

Buchou - captain

Ore-sama – Ore = me, sama suffix used to express superiority or greatness

Kuso - damn

Kun – prefix used to denote closeness/ attachment

San – formal prefix

Zenzen – not really

Honto ni Dayo- it really is

Ohayou – goodmorning

Onegai – please

Matterunda - wait

Itadakimasu – let's eat ( always said before meals )

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

**A/N: **Ohayou minna! Ahuh, your crazy and delirious writer has just delayed another chapter for 3 weeks! Gaaaah! Personally I blame it all on writers block, while technically I blame it on my own laziness. Either of the two are good reasons for my late update (so says I…though I'm not sure) and I do sure hope that you guys don't mind.

Actually, truth be told minna, I was just too tired to write these past few weeks because of the death of my grandma. I had to be absent from school because of that and I had to make up for all of the lessons that I missed, so yeah, please bear with me. I've tried to do my best but well, you know circumstances happen and they require a tad bit of your time.

Oh, and if you guys noticed, I've been repeating the Japanese terms list for some chapters because I'm really rushing this chap right now. Well...that's if you guys **DID **notice. XD. lol.

Well anyway here is chapter 13!

Hope you liked it guys!

P.S.

Please READ AND REVIEW!

I accept good and bad comments so don't you worry, express yourself and just relax for once. : } Don't let peer pressure always get to you. (my peer pressure! Hahaha...no, no, I'm not pressuring you guys to give me sprinkles of flattery at all....ehehehe. Just speak truthfully and barge anything at me as long as it's what you honestly think. : } )

Anyway, I think I'll be either adding one more, if not two more, chapters to this story. I really want to finish off my story with a bam. Hoooraaah!

I wont be staying too long though with Chaps 14 and 15 because I have other projects in mind like _IN AN UNDERCOVER ROMANCE _and my soon-to-be latest _HANATSUKI: MOONFLOWER PRINCESS _which can only be posted after this one is done. I probably might just leave it to chapter 14 even, but rest assured dear readers I will give out my heart-felt thanks to all of you in the last chapters so please.....do leave some comments behind so that I can add you in my thank-you-list .: D

To those who are especially waiting for the update for In and Undercover romance, please note that I will not post the update until I am fully finished. : ]

PS: **READ AND REVIEW!**


	14. Grand Finale

**The Love Triangle**

Disclaimer: Putting the sign 'disclaimer' definitely means that you're trying to disclaim something, not say that it's your own. What's the sense in writing a disclaimer if you're trying to do the exact opposite? Okay, so the point is; The Prince of Tennis isn't mine. Never has, never will be, but oh Kami, how I wished I could have Fuji. Still, I don't, so don't fuzz about it.

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Grand Finale**

* * *

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

Fuji could only watch in horror as Sakuno's hand that tried to hold on to the railing of the bridge slipped.

The auburn head fell head down first into the fast current.

"Sakuno-chan!"

Without a moment's hesitation Fuji ripped off his shirt and clambered up the bridge.

"Oh Fuji-kun! Thank kami you're here! Look, Sakuno, that slimy woman! She tried to kill me, but I was able to push her away in time and now everything is fine now that you're next to me...." Karumi seductively draped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him away from the railing of the bridge where he was about to jump.

Fuji pushed her away from him gruffly, a dangerous gleam of anger shimmering in his cerulean blue eyes.

"I'll deal with you later," he hissed.

Jumping off the bridge, Fuji spotted Sakuno gripping on to a boulder. She was trying her best not to be swept away by the strong and vicious current, clinging with all her might on to the rock with much difficulty. Her hands were still cuffed, and that made things all the more hard for her.

Darkness was shrouding the sky by the minute Fuji could still clearly see the paled state of her face as she clung on to dear life. The current was very strong. Sharp, edgy rocks lined the river everywhere, breaking the water that was running in its way into foamy surges that splattered on the white garment Sakuno had on.

Fuji's eyes widened for a moment as he began swimming down the current.

"Wedding dress – bride --- my bride –," the words flashed across his mind. His motions began to slow down as his mind spun into a little haze.

All this time he had been fighting this wedding, trying to prevent it from happening, resenting his father for forcing him unto it and in the end – his father hadn't married him off to a complete stranger at all. Fuji Okinawa had arranged his son's wedding to the one person that he loved.

A small sense of relief washed over him --- only to be disbanded when he realized that his soon-to-be-wife was still in danger.

"One -onegai! Someone, someone save me, please!" he heard her cough out weakly.

Oh god, what had he been doing wasting golden, precious time? He had a life to save, he had a love to save, and he had been wasting a minute with thoughts.

"You can torture your outosan and whoever it is who had been weaving out this messed up conspiracy LATER! Save Sakuno first!" he vexed in annoyance at himself as he discarded a vague yet sweetly vengeful get-back plot that had popped into his head earlier within a matter of brief seconds.

Not wasting any more time, Fuji braced his limbs and grappled the water with every ounce of strength he had in his body. His legs kicked up and down, propelling him forward. It was as if the brunette was a torpedo across the water as he bobbed his head up and down, side to side with each crouch of his free stroke.

His body was not that heavy. He was lithe and nimble enough to stream along with the water like a salmon and dodge the edgy-sharp granite stones that lay across the river in plentiful amounts. His training as a Seigaku tennis player ad proved to be no doubt useful.

But it was that danger – that edgy petrifying fear of the hands of death that would snatch her away from him – that truly pushed the man beyond his bounds. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins and surging through him as an added power; the much needed power to get to her in time.

This river was dangerous, very dangerous.

Fuji noticed that ever since he made the dive in.

Frantically gripping onto a large stone, the brunette ceased his swimming and craned his head high above the water.

"Sakuno!"

Fuji squinted his eyes as he angled his saggy head in search of white.

The rocky area where he was in was undoubtedly where she had been. Fuji could be certain of that, even though the night had long since dusked in.

"SAKUNO!" he shouted even louder.

Hurriedly, he clawed up the rock, devoid of the sharp searing pain as his skin broke against the rocks sharp edges. His gut wrenched and his mind began filling up with thoughts he wished were not true. Frantically, he scanned around, hoping, praying.

He couldn't possibly live without her by his side.

She had been taken away from him once, he wasn't going to let that happen again.

"SAKUNO!! SAKU -- "

Kami! There she was, drifting farther away. Her arms limply curled across the log in a difficult position. Her hands were still cuffed, and Fuji gritted his teeth. He would make sure Karumi paid for what she did to his Sakuno.

He could see that she was unconscious and the log was taking her fast down the rapids whose current was now whirling more swiftly than before.

Fuji took off and dived into the water.

Finally, in a few seconds, he reached the withered tree trunk. Wiping the water with his free arm, Fuji groaned. Great. Life was just great. They were headed right into a boulder. Just before they would crash into the deadly rock, Fuji protectively took the woman in his arms with his back facing the rock.

Snapping his eyes shut, he waited for his spine to snap in two against the rock while he continued holding her against his chest to protect her from the impact. It was odd for him to note how perfectly Sakuno fit there in between his chest and his arms, and that was all he could think about as he continued to leave his eyes closed.

Luckily, the current forked down away from the boulder and the two were dragged farther down the river without the log. He could hear the log smashing into the boulder, turning into a hundred splinters as they forked down.

There were no more rocks dodging their way where they were in. Fuji lifted Sakuno's head higher above the water and began trying to swim against towards to the shore but the opposing water was just too strong. He could feel the water moving quickly and forcefully in large amounts as it pushed them farther down-stream.

Fuji was no fool. He knew that the flow now was four times as strong as it initially had been. He knew the sound of thundering power from the other end of the river was real. He knew that there was a cliff, an extremely high cliff, one that would show no mercy to any creature caught in its watery fall.

Fuji could tell. He knew by the distance of the sound that the river's water was falling out on protruding rocks down the cliff, chipping away to form deadly rock-knives that could kill them at an instant.

They were going to die.

Pulling his bride closer to his chest, Fuji prepared for what was about to come. He hastily planted a kiss on his would-be-wife's drenched but yet captivating lips. Sigh. If only life could've been better to them ……if only it could've given them a chance…….maybe their kiss wouldn't have been ending this way with her cold and unconscious while he strained to keep her close to him as he waited for death together.

They were supposed to be married today. How ironic that they were going to die today as well. And he hadn't even heard the words he always needed to hear from her yet. He had always wanted to be certain of her feelings. He was unsure of them and he needed the truth. He wanted the truth.

Nonetheless, Fuji was absolutely positive of one thing . Right here, right now, as they drifted to the waiting arms of death in this raging watery tempest, Fuji knew that his love for this woman leaning on to him knew no bounds.

Now, it didn't matter anymore if she didn't feel the same way as he did. All he knew was that he loved her more than the entire world itself, and to Fuji that was all that mattered. In the amalgam of fear, anxiety, disappointment, and dread, only his love for Sakuno kept him holding on to hope.

"Aishiteru, Sakuno-koi," he kissed her the last time. "Till death do us part."

* * *

"Mmmmmm," chocolate brown orbs began to flutter. Rolling over, Sakuno could acutely feel the soft blades of lawn grass underneath her skin while a strange glowing warmth patched across her body.

"Sunlight," she noted sleepily.

Forcing her eyes wide open, the auburn head woman slowly sat up, taking in all of her surroundings with ease. The place was unfamiliar to her, yet she had no apprehension at all in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes wandered up and down, darting from the grassy land where she was seated to the surrounding flowers and ornamentals that splashed all the green with some lovely hues and colors of variety. There were benches on nice cobblestone paths, ponds with very little koi fish, and trees inviting her with open arms into the cool of their shade.

Walking over to one, the woman couldn't help but take note that the tree she was approaching was covered in pink all over, a sweet smell wafting around it.

A smile crept up her face.

Finally underneath its shade, Sakuno pressed her hands to the gnarled trunk, kicked her slippers off and clambered up the first low lying branch. She leaned back to sit down. Stroking a magenta bloom absent-mindedly with one finger, Sakuno suddenly felt a tiny stinging sensation at the back of her hand. A fuzzy recollection dimmed her mind with a memory of a moonlit moment atop the same kind of tree with someone. Somehow though that person's identity was beyond her mind's grasp.

She knew that person was important to her – and meant all the world to her perhaps – but the more she tried to remember the face, the more the stinging pain creased her head with nausea.

The silence around her offered no help to her at all, and Sakuno pinched the bridge of her nose. Shutting her eyes for a brief moment, Sakuno tried to concentrate a little more when the crackling of twigs snapped her mental excursion awake.

Craning her head down, she blinked in surprise.

A young man with mahogany hair trampled the ground. He leaned on the trunk of the tree in an impatient manner and Sakuno raised her brow.

"Saa, that silly woman is late again," she heard him mutter under his breath. He leaned his head upwards. His eyes were looking upwards straight at he, the orbs showing off their brilliant green hue. She jumped back in surprise, nearly falling off the branch.

It was a good thing that she had been able to grip on the branch on the nick of time.

Peeking an eye back down, she noticed that his gaze was still fixed on her.

"Eto……anou…hehehe…" she squeaked

He stayed quiet, eyes still at her. No response. Hmmmmm.

"Um….hi?" she waved both of her hands.

No answer, not even a blink, or a wink.

Pouting with a tint of annoyance, Sakuno let her leg down and dangled her foot right on top of his face.

"Hey, does this smell nice?"

Still no response. It was as if he couldn't see her at all!

"What am I here, a ghost?" she shrugged.

Carefully Sakuno stretched across the length of the branch. She returned to her thoughts when she heard twigs snapping again. This time a woman was entering the sakura tree's shade. She looked so much like her grandfather Touya except that the girl had jet black hair and blue eyes that shimmered in the light.

"Yasuke….," she heard the voice trail off as the girl approached the boy. She noticed the boys bright eyes gleam with an expression she felt she'd seen somewhere in someone before.

"Was it…anou…sadism?" she guessed.

The boy looked at the girl with wide eyes, shocked and surprised. It was all feigned, part of whatever sadistic trap the cunning boy had for her, but the girl fell for it. Confusion drawled across the girls entire face.

"Ryuuzaki Haruhi, what are you doing here?"

Wait! Wait – freeze there just a moment – did this boy just say, Ryuuzaki Haruhi? Her great grandmother? The aunt of her grandfather that her Ojiisan Touya would talked about once? Sakuno's brows furrowed tightly. What was her great grandmother doing here?

"No," she frowned "The real question I, what am I doing here? What year is this even?"

Before she could even have her question answered she heard her great grandmother's voice ring through the air and her curiosity got the best of her.

"What are you talking about Tamaki? You texted twenty minutes ago to meet you here!"

"No, I didn't," Tamaki lied. Gasping out with a mock-shock expression, Tamaki's eyes went wide. " Oh…don't tell me! Are you stalking me Haruhi?"

Haruhi's jaws dropped.

"What?"

Tamaki snorted and ran a hand through his hair.

"I can understand how so many girls find it hard to resist me, one of which includes you, you know my little nymph. I am one of the country's hottest men available. Of course it would be understandable. And besides Haruhi…." he inched his face near her rosy face and then moved down to whisper in her ear, " You love me, don't you?"

Sakuno watched with wide eyes as she watched her grandmother blush furiously under the man's gaze. Now she knew where she got that trait from! So, constantly annoying blushes ran in her family tree after all. It made sense now. She almost thought she was the only tomato-head existing on the planet.

Somehow though, she wished spunk had included itself in her genetic make-up as well. Obviously her grandmother had the gene and really didn't want to pass it to her.

If Sakuno were in her great-grandmother Haruhi's place right now, she would've melted into a nice little puddle, but no, Haruhi didn't do that. Instead, she wrenched herself free of Tamak's grip on her and spun around fiercely.

"The tabloids were the ones who gave you the 'hottest guy' title, not me. I on the other hand would've branded you as the 'sloppiest idiot ever'," she growled as she turned away. " And I take back what I said the other day. I was wrong. I certainly CANNOT be in love with a baka like you."

Sakuno thought that her grandmother would then walk away but the man called Tamaki gripped her shoulders, a soft gleam shimmering in his eyes. The auburnhead looked a little bit more closely and noticed the sadism had faded away from his eyes and was instead replaced with a drop-dead serious light.

"Not even when this baka loves you back?" she heard him whisper tersely into the air. With firm but gentle arms, Tamaki moved his arms to wrap around her shoulders, closing the gap between them.

"I love you Haruhi," he squeezed her shoulders, waiting for a reply.

Haruhi's lips tugged up and smiled pleasantly.

"Oh, well, then you aren't much of an idiot as I thought you were," she chuckled. Shoving herself away from his arms, she ran away bursting into giggles with her beau chasing after her.

Sakuno didn't know why but without even giving a bubble of thought to it, she found herself down the tree and running after them…only to find herself lost.

All of the sudden, all the fine greenery slipped away into a grim and gloomy hospital room. It was shocking at first but what was more gripping was that her great-grandmother was laying still in the hospital bed, tube's hanging all around her.

Haruhi's face was deathly pale against her jet black hair and her chest lay limp and lifeless.

Sakuno could feel herself crying alongside Tamaki, tears rolling down her cheeks as she touched the dead woman's hand.

What had happened? Her great-grandmother had been so full of life moments ago – and now, now – Sakuno couldn't believe it.

"Um, excuse me, demo, sir, I believe this is for you," a nurse entered the room. " I'm so sorry. You must've loved her a lot." Nodding his head in silence, the mahogany-haired man took the letter with trembling hands.

With that the nurse left quietly.

Shaking in tears, Tamaki unfolded the letter carefully. Sakuno, who was standing right next to Tamaki didn't mean to read it alongside him. It wasn't meant for her, but there was no one to stop her either. She wanted to know the last words of Haruhi. Sakuno was her great-grandchild after all. It wouldn't hurt if she wanted to know….wouldn't it?

Tamaki,

I know I don't have that much time, the doctors told me that it's getting worse. So even if it hurts to even write, I knew I had to suffer just a little more and write this to you. Tamaki…..I love you….so much. These five months being your fiancée were the greatest months of my life. You taught me how to live, how to love. Before I met you, I didn't even have a life. But you changed that for me. So don't blame yourself for anything. It wasn't anyone's fault that I got this disease. No one's. B

Be happy Tamaki. I want you to be happy. You deserve that. But before I go …..I want to ask one thing from you…..

Sakuno flinched as Tamaki suddenly closed the letter and dropped to his knees to cry.

"Haruhi!" he shouted into the air. "Kami? Kami, why'd you have to take her away from me!? Why!?"

Crawling up to where she lay, the man gently caressed the pale cheek of his dead fiancée with his hand. He wished that she would move to respond. He wished that somehow his touch could wake her up.

"Why kami?" his voice softened, " Don't worry Haruhi…..we'll be a family someday. I'll make sure of it. Your family and mine…together…forever."

With that Sakuno found herself slipping away from the hospital room, away from Tamaki, away from her dead grandmother. For a brief second all of her surroundings began to swirl around her until Sakuno found herself in another place.

It was another hospital room but unlike the first the aura around it was bubbly and warm. It was filled with life.

Drying off the last tear with the back of her hand, Sakuno tugged a smile ---until a very familiar voice echoed out.

"The day has finally come!"

"Obaasan Akuma?" Sakuno cringed.

"What do you mean?"

"Outosan?" she looked deeper into the room, recognizing now all the voices. Walking nearer to her father by the side of the hospital bed, Sakuno saw the others as well. There was her mother, Fuji-san, and --- a chibi Syuusuke-kun? And then there was a little baby…..

"That's me?" Sakuno muttered.

So, this was the day she was born? Really, it made no sense to Sakuno why she was brought her or who or what did bring her to this place. She had to admit, it was rather odd to look down on a chibi version of you but then before she could try to assess the situation, her obaasan Akuma's voice caught her attention.

"Didn't Sumire tell you Shino?"

"Tell me about what Aunty Akuma?" his father raised his brow in confusion. "Is it anything I need to know? Does any of this involve my daughter?"

"Yes, it has everything to do with her. Shino, do you remember your Obaasan Megumi? Well, she had a twin – she was a grandmother you never knew of. Her name was Haruhi. Haruhi, like your Obaasan Megumi, was a very beautiful woman – well, so said Megumi-san and her husband. Anyway, Haruhi, at the age of twenty fell in love with a young businessman and they got engaged shortly. However, a few days just before the wedding Haruhi fell ill and died. Her last wish was that her kin would join together in marriage," Akuma tried to explain.

"What? How come I never came to know of this?" Ryuuzaki Shino stood up.

"Shush, shush, Shino! I'm not yet done. Let me finish," the old woman chided, pulling her nephew ( Author's note: Remember Akuma is the sister of Sumire? :D ) back down to his seat. Sakura gave her husband a stare. Akuma continued , " Now listen. However Megumi gave birth to male offspring, and so did the wife of the brother of Haruhi's fiancée. Haruhi's wish could not be attained, since two males could not be joined together. So, the pact moved on to the next generation."

"You mean my generation? But….I'm the only Ryuuzaki offspring, since you never got to have children….do that means…"

"Yes, Shino, the pact had to move on. Your Obaasan Megumi passed this story on to me the day you were born. She wasn't disappointed to find out that you were male – she was only disappointed to find out that the pact couldn't be fulfilled again."

"Why? Was it because the side of the fiancée also had a male?," asked Sakura.

"Yes, exactly."

"So the pact moved on to the next generation?" Fuji Okinawa raised his brow.

" Yes, my grandchildren's generation. And here I am…..to find out that my grandchild is a girl! What a joyous time it is! The pact can finally be fulfilled," Akuma raised her hands and scooped the baby into her arms, crying in delight as she cuddled it closely to her chest. " You don't know how long Megumi had been waiting for this moment…..and she never got to see it even."

"Well….alright. But I have one question though, Aunty Akuma," prodded the sort of dazed Shino, " Who exactly was the fiancée of Obaasan Haruhi, what family was he from? I really need to know who my daughter's future husband will be…..Kami, this is all really going to fast for me."

"Oh, I'm sorry minna! I know now wouldn't have been this best of time to reveal all of this startling information to you but you know us old folks. We just get too carried away at times, me in particular of course," she prattled.

_So this was what Father had meant to her when he said that my marriage had been arranged even before she was born. But to who? Who am I marrying?_

"So, who is it?" Shino rubbed his temple.

Sakuno felt her heart flip. And amalgam of emotions flushed throughout her sadness, joy, excitement. She couldn't understand what was going on with her right now.

"Well….you wouldn't believe it. His name was Tamaki. Fuji Tamaki. So that means…….," she paused for a moment, " That my grandchild is now engaged to this playful little child seated right here….Fuji, Syuusuke."

"WHAT?!"

_Fuji Syuusuke……Fuji Syuusuke?_

Then everything went black to Sakuno.

* * *

Desperation was etched all over his face.

"Breathe, damn it, Sakuno breathe!" he pushed down on her diaphragm on what seemed to be the seventh time already.

"Fuji I don't think —"

"NO!" he shoved Oishi's hand off his shoulder.

Bending down on her cold, drenched body, Fuji placed his mouth over hers and tried to push air into her lungs. Her lips were cold, ….very cold. For a moment, Fuji got up to see whether it worked or not – but still she wasn't breathing along with him.

He breathed air into her, again, and again, and again.

She didn't wake up.

Fuji's world came crashing down on him. He couldn't hear his teammates hovering over both of them, he couldn't feel the coldness of the wind, he couldn't even feel the remains of what little strength he had left in his body.

"She cant be…." he rasped in despair. "This can't be ….."

His former teammates tried to approach him. They wanted to help in anyway possible, but he wouldn't let them. The aura of loss and total devastation around him said enough for them to back off and simply let him be. They couldn't possibly understand what he was going through right now. The pain was enough to kill him in itself. It was like a thousand poison – tipped needles had been hammered into his body all at once while he was slowly being burned on a stoke.

The pain was gut-wrenching.

What was worse was the emptiness it left inside of him as a thousand memories of what they shared flashed before him. It was as if the life was slowly being sucked out of him.

"Her hands….her hands…they're so cold…" he muttered in a lost stupor as he entwined his fingers into hers "So very, very cold."

She was dead.

He wanted to die. He wished he had just died with her. He wished they hadn't pulled him out of the water.

"Fujiko, nya …"

"Fuji - "

His teammates didn't know what to say to him. He could only look up at them with blank eyes, staring past them as if they weren't there. For a moment, as the former Seigaku players  
watched their tensai look away with tears billowing his cheeks, silence poured out all over them.

There was nothing that could be said that could possibly ease his pain away.

All that could be heard were the thrashing of the watery cascade of the river that had successfully took away her life, the sound of the silent tears that ran down Fuji's face, and the sound of a short, gasping, cough?

"Huh? Fssshhh…..Momoshiro, stop it," hissed Kaidoh, gutting Momo on the ribs.

"Ouch!" he cried out with a muffed voice, "It wasn't me you brainless idiot!"

"Iie, data. 80 % that it was Eiji, 40% that it was Oishi or Kawamura, 0.1 % that it was Tezuka, 0% that it was me," Inui spoke softly in an awkward tone tinged with sympathy and grief, " And a 100% that all of you should just stop it --- minna, now isn't the right time, Iie, data."

"I didn't cough."

"I didn't cough either Oishi!" Kawamura put his tennis racket down.

All eyes fell on Kikumaru and Tezuka.

"Nya, it wasn't me nya…." whimpered Eiji. The poor acrobatic kitty had very read and teary eyes. Apparently he had done his own share of crying though he tried his best to not let anyone else see him. Eiji was worried that Fuji might see him and would make his friend all the more grievous. Tezuka on the other hand just chose to turn away, but still the sadness in his eyes was evident.

Then another cough broke out, and then another, and another.

Frantically they turned to each other, darting their eyes around to find the source and stop it before it would disturb Fuji whose weak and tired body now lay next to his beloved, unwilling to move and unaware of anything else but the sorrow welling up in his soul.

Not one of them had coughed…so how?

The one and only person who could've done so was —

"Anou….." she sputtered out, slowly opening her chocolate brown eyes against the pit of the night, " m-m-minna-san."

At first Fuji couldn't believe it. He had heard her voice loud and clear but still…he couldn't believe it.

"An illusion," he deemed, still closing his eyes, unmindful of his teammates uproar as they moved to where he was lying beside the corpse of his beloved, still grieving her death. He didn't care to listen to them anyway – that was until he heard her voice calling out his name.

"Syuusuke-kun….cough, cough, cough, daijoubo …..ka?" the length of her hand rested at his wrist.

Fuji snapped his eyes open. Kami! He wasn't dreaming! Sakuno – Sakuno made it! It was all for real!

Before he knew it he was holding her in a passionate, joyous embrace, never letting go for even a moment. Life itself had reawakened within him with the touch of her hand and he vowed to never let her go. Never, ever again. Not today, not tomorrow, not for all eternity.

" Ne….Syuusuke-kun? Daijoubo ka?" she repeated.

The brunette smiled.

"Sakuno," he breathed deeply as he tightened his embrace even further, " Honto ni daijoubo, honto ni daijoubo my love…"

* * *

_A little five-year-old boy and a chubby and shy little three-year-old girl walked hand in hand. _

_A bright sunny day, a garden swaying scents away, a cobblestone path to fray. _

_These two children have come to play._

(A/N: Please forgive the rhyming….I guess too much writing of poems can totally rub off on a person. :D )

_He was smiling down at her, she was smiling up at him. Walking at a leisurely pace, the two little children stopped along the way every now and then, sometimes laughing, sometimes doing so in silence. To the small cutesy young girl, the flowers sprawled all over the place was just too hard to resist. The young boy on the other hand did not hold much esteem for the colorful plant parts at all but it was her smile that mattered the most to him. _

_He knew that she was the child of his father's friend, but he didn't really get to know her up to know. He'd only seen her for a week….but it now it seemed as if he had known her for like, forever. _

_There were things that he knew for certain. One was that she'd always smile when there'd be a colorful flower stuck in between her stubby little fingers, her cute brown eyes twinkling in delight. Second was he loved her smile._

_That was why he'd asked his father to bring them here every now and then during the week they got to know each other. That was why he was bringing her this very pretty flower right now, hidden underneath his coat. _

_There wasn't anything like it in the garden that they went to and she hadn't seen anything like it before. _

_He was sure she'd like it; his father said so himself. _

_And now as they were dragging along on their cheery way, making a couple of flower crowns from all the little bloomers they had collected, the brunette child was waiting for the right time to give her the surprise._

"_Saa, Sakuno-chan, this is for you," he handed her the flowers._

_Her eyes grew wide at the sight of what he gave her. _

"_Anou, what's it called?" she fingered the clump of pink little blossoms she held in her hand. "Ne, Syuusuke-kun?"_

"_It's named after you," he smiled. "Saa, actually, its named after your mother…..but since you said that you're named after your mother, then it must also be named after you right? It's called Sakura, sakura blossoms."_

_In a single scoop the brunette boy found himself tugged into an tight endless embrace._

"_Thank you!" he heard her squeak into his back. Wrapping his arms around her a little tighter, he smiled. _

"_You're welcome."_

"_Sakuno!"_

"_Syuusuke! It's time to go!"_

_The voices calling them were their father's. Sakuno was about to let go but then the boy tightened his hold on her. He had a feeling this would be the last time he could see his friend. Movers had already been at his house. Sure he was a kid, but Fuji Syuusuke was a genius at a young age, and he knew a mover when he could see one. If his father were to take him away now…..he didn't know if….._

"_Ne, Sakuno-chan," he whispered softly, " Do you think we'll ever be together again?"_

"_Syuusuke, the chopper's waiting for us. It's time to go!"_

"_Sakuno-chan! Come on now, sweety, your Okaasan will be worried!"_

_Pulling away, Sakuno ran up to her father's arms. The boy watched as she let herself down and began to walk hand in hand with her otousan, the clump of sakura flowers still hanging from her fingers. Then as if she'd forgotten something, Sakuno tugged her father down and whispered something into his ear. Her father nodded approvingly and she ran back to give him a final embrace. She smiled as she pulled back. _

"_Ne, Syuusuke-kun, I do, I really do!"_

_With that she finally left with her father. _

_That was a promise between them. It certainly was._

* * *

"I do."

"And do you, Ryuuzuki Sakuno, take Fuji Syuusuke as you lawfully wedded husband?"

Fuji watched her lips curl up into a smile, a real smile, like the one she gave him when he was five and she was three. Fifteen years had made him forget that day but nothing was to be forgotten now. He would treasure this one single moment in his life and he promised himself he would never forget. Never.

He threw back a smile at her, love shining into his eyes as he gazed into the eyes of his lovely bride.

"I do."

"Then you may now kiss the bride."

With gentle hands , Fuji lifted off the veil and cupped her chin with one hand. She fluttered her eyes closed and he didn't wait to be told what to do. His lips found hers in a soft intricate kiss that deepened as his tongue made way into the recesses of her mouth, gently tasting what it was like. Hmmm. Cherry.

He felt her hands make way to the bottom of his nape as she kissed him back with the same passion and force that made him want to break down and cry in joy.

Snapshots faintly ticked at the background of everywhere but Fuji didn't care to break away until he left his beautiful wife breathless. Pulling away he grinned at what he had done to her. Eyes slowly fluttering open in a stupor, Sakuno looked completely ravished, and her full and utterly kissable lips looked swollen. The way they were slightly parted tempted him to canoodle those lips breathless again.

Fuji noticed how the flower girl cringed as she covered her eyes with her little hands and he immediately had to snuff the thought away.

Great, the first day in their married life and he had already created a scandal. Poor little flower girl.

Well, though……it wasn't like marriage wasn't a scandalous knickknack in the first place.

So instead of frenching his wife (the wedding kiss doesn't count…..it was…..um….a special kiss. Oh, and yeah, he really had to get used to the term "wife"….although the image of Sakuno perfectly fit in to that role.) like he had intended to, Fuji resorted to pecking her on the cheek instead. It wasn't as delicious but it'd have to do now.

"Ne anata," he whispered into her ear, tucking her arm in his, "Don't you think we should huddle along to the reception?"

Lowering his voice to a deep, husky pitch, Fuji smiled sadistically. "The sooner we get over with this, the sooner we'll be able to get back to you "sharing" you pink lips with me…..saa, anata."

"Syuusuke-kun!"

* * *

"Mou, Shino," Sakura pointed to her you daughter dancing in the arms of her husband as she danced with her own, "Our little girl has grown up already, hasn't she, ne koisshi?"

The Ryuuzaki nodded his head meekly as he continued leading his wife down in the waltz. " Hai, and I still can't believe it either," he sighed wearily. "It still seems like yesterday when my little baby foo came running up to me with sakura clumps in her chubby little hands. She was still three back then."

"Oh, yes, I remember that time too," laughed Sakura, "She wouldn't let go of the blossoms for even a second. It was her first time to see sakura blossoms. She said she'd only let them go when she'd see the little Syuusuke-kun again. He was the one that gave them to her, wasn't he, anata?"

"Mmmm," he answered in agreement. "But she was so young back then. She quickly forgot about it all. It took a long time for her to finally remember when I mentioned it to her today."

A dry silence fell after that as the two older Ryuuzakis wove in and out , step by step in complete synchronization with each other to the waltz they were dancing.

" Ne, shino, do you think we did the right thing in telling them everything just before the wedding? I mean anata, your grandmother wrote down the conditions to her wishes clearly and ―"

Shino squeezed his wife's arm and looked at her reassuringly with a warm smile.

"Don't worry, anata, everything's going to be alright."

"No, for you it isn't," spoke a third person with a hard worn-out voice. The couple stopped dancing and turned around in unison to find a not very happy looking Ryuuzaki Sumire. "With all that happened; nearly getting my granddaughter drowned, ruining her wedding dress that I walked through hell to get and forcing me into wearing this, this stupid thing ―" Sumire's eyes bent down at the hideous pink frilly gown that would have rather suited better on a loli-shota.

She snickered in disgust, "I don't think anything's going to be alright for you, Ryuuzaki Shino!"

"Now, now, Okaasan ―"

The elderly woman stomped her foot with force.

" You are coming with me right now, Ryuuzaki Shino. We are going to have a very _pleasant_ chat," she growled.

Walking past the couples on the dancefloor Sumire stood by the kitchen door. They were going to have the 'chat' muffled up in there where no guest could hear the supersonic 'conversation' they were going to have.

Shino wanted to go on dancing and completely ignore his mother, but his mother's eyes were still on him from where she was standing and her glare was waving the words deadly.

Shino inadvertently sighed.

He was in for it, big time.

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

Echizen waited for the perfect time to run forward and strike out. Leaping up the air in an unbelievable height, he reached the ball. Twisting his left arm at an angle, the tennis prince shot the ball with full force downwards with exact precision, passing a centimeter or two to the right of his opponents shoulder before hitting its mark at the far right corner of his opponent's side of the court.

The sounding thwak of the ball against his racket was still fresh against Ryoma's mind and he continued to watch the ball dig five inches or so into the ground with its ultra fast twisting motion , permanently leaving a mark.

His mouth tugged to form a tiny smirk.

He really loved the cyclone smash.

"Ummm….15 to love, game and match to Echizen Ryoma!"

The smirk still lingering on his face, the golden-eyed tennis prince walked up to the net and promptly took his opponents hand to shake.

"Buchuo,"

"Well, Echizen, it seems that your spirit is getting better everyday. I hope this training camp has helped you take your mind off things," Tezuka noted dryly with his usual stoic expression rigged on his face.

Ryoma shrugged.

Casually throwing his towel over his shoulders, he walked up to a bench and gulped down an entire water jug. He had come here with the Tezuka for training and some leisure so that he could get his mind off things no scratch that, no off someone in particular. So, if tennis would help with that, then he would swing his days away like a lousy tennis ball.

He'd simply be a tennis player all his life for all he cared; there was nothing for him anymore.

But as long as she'd be happy, Ryoma had to be happy and content as well.

Throwing back the now empty jug into his tennis bag with all the rest of his things. He stood up ready to go. His sparring matches with Tezuka (and whoever else was courageous enough to answer Tezuka's practice match invites he sent out especially for Ryoma's fun.) always ended at 5 o'clock sharp.

It was already 5:02 and they still had to walk fifteen miles back to the lodge. ( to Tezuka, walking was nearly as important as running laps). Ryoma glanced at his instructor who had opened – and promptly closed – his cell shut for what seemed like the eleventh time already.

The tennis rolled his eyes and walked up to Tezuka.

"Let me guess, it's Inui," he snickered snidely. "And he somehow managed to drag the rest along the with a barrel of his horrendous cocktail."

Tezuka shut his phone off (permanently) and shook his head slowly at the thing. Looking up at the setting sun , he sighed. "Don't let your guard down minna."

The hallway was drenched in a sea of laughter and giggling as Sakuno raced like the wind. Her delicate hands were tangled by his hands in a twine and she let him pull her along, her pace beating to match his.

Finally they stopped in front of a door. Sakuno propped down her hands on her knees and bent down gasping for air.

"Mou –Syuusuke-kun," she said in between pants and giggles, "Where exactly are we going?"

All of the sudden, she found her chin in his hand and her lips trapped in his, leaving her all the more breathless.

"Syuus -"

"Shh…" he put a finger to her lips.

There was an oddly strange twinkle in his eye as he held his hand out for her to take. Sakuno clamped her mouth shut. She smiled as she put her hand in his. Her head imagined candles, roses petals, fluffy pillows, and little kisses as he led her inside — only to find herself blinking in surprise.

The room was filled with mirrors, beauty chairs' make-up, pedicure and stocks and mounds of dresses. Six male, make-up-artists-slash-beauticians smiled up at her from where they were seated.

"Everyone prove to me that hiring all of you wasn't a mistake," she heard her husband say in a low voice. "Wait for them. They'll be coming soon."

Sakuno blinked some more.

Why in the world did her husband hire a bunch of make-up artists on this time of all times?

It wasn't like she needed them. And what did he mean by that? Sakuno just felt that her sadistic Syuusuke was really up to something and she couldn't figure out what it was.

However before she could even ask, her hand was being pulled and Sakuno found herself moving along yet again. They were walking towards another door at the end of the room which she guessed was probably a closet.

A closet?

Sakuno pursed her lips together. Seven-minutes –in –heaven wouldn't be so bad if – and only if it would be stretched to an hour. (her husband often corrupted her young mind with his kissing lessons that sort of involved all sorts of techniques. Truth be told, she really didn't mind the corruption, it was a pleasure….so she learned. Wink, wink. Lol. XD ) but it was her honeymoon and she had been expecting something bet-

"Sugoi…"she gasped in amazement. Suddenly she forgot how to breathe. At the other side of the door wasn't a boxed-up closet insanely deranged with clothes and cobwebs but a balcony ober looking a sunset-painted sea.

"What do you think, saa, anata?"

"It's beautiful…."

With a warm smile, the blue-eyed tensai draped his arm around her shoulders. She craned her neck so that her head would lean on the houlder of his draping arm and she sighed.

"It would be so nice to ride towards the sunset and spend the night in some lovely cottage."

"Really, hmmm?"

"Yeah," she purred dreamily.

"So why don't we then?"

Fuji snapped his fingers and Sakuno gave a startled jump back when she suddenly heard a whirling sound in the air. Her eyes widened when a chopper rose to the edge of the balcony.

"Anata, what's going on?" she gaped.

In the midst of her shock, Fuji had taken hold of her hand and then swept her off her feet with his other hand, carrying her in bridal-style.

"Mou, Syuusuke-kun, you always have to surprise me!"

"That's because whenever I do so, koisshi, I always get a treat in the end," he teased, making her blush in his embrace. "Mou! Stop teasing me, anata!"

Fuji turned his gaze away from his wife's red blushing face to look up at the chopper.

"Let's go, shall we?"

"Wait, what about the beauticians?"

Sakuno watched as Fuji's smile drown all over into a naughty grin. She shook her head. Kami, her husband was hopeless.

"Anata, don't worry. I'm just making sure our little friends get a surprise too," he grinned all the more. " Especially Inui and Eiji."

"Huh? What do you mean Syuusuke-kun? If – ,"

With that Fuji lost no time and carried his wife up into the chopper where they whirled off into the sunset.

* * *

The sign above the door read 'storage room'.

"Nya, nya, Kaidoh-chi, are you sure that you saw them running into there?" the kitty-faced Eiji gesticulated, pointing at the sign." Are you sure Fujiko brought Sakuno-chan to this storage room nya?"

"This can't be the room! Heh, Mamushi just must have gotten his eyesight all muddled or he just really needs eyeglasses, right Mamushi?"

"Fssshhh, so are you telling me that I saw wrong, Momoshiro no baka?"

"Yeah, that's what I was trying to say, you ahou!" countered Momoshiro. "Hey, are you even listening, or are you going deaf too?"

"What did you say!?" growled Kaidoh.

"Deaf moron!"

"Ahou!"

"Nya, stop that nya, both of you! Nya!" Eiji jumped in between both of them.

Two pairs of angry black eyes rested on the person interrupting and Eiji could feel electric sparks emanating in there, right from both of their gazes.

"Butt out of it!" the loud chorused cry of the two made poor little Eiji take a few steps back and run for back-up.

"Mou, nya,nya, Taka-san, you have to stop those two nya! Onegai nya!" he floundered on unsuspecting Kawamura who coincidentally had left his racket behind in place of his sushi chef outfit.

That was totally unlucky for little Eiji. Without his racket, the ever-on-fire sushi tennis player just wasn't that 'burning' anymore. Kawamura without the influence of his racket would not budge for something insane. All poor Eiji got for a reply was a Taka-san rubbing the back of his head sheepishly with a few "Ehehehe, I don't think …"

But then, there was a miracle!

Just a few steps away was Inui and Oishi talking (more like Oishi pleading for Inui to stop his evil plans and Inui threatening the mother hen off ) in an animated manner.

And in Oishi's hand was something particularly interesting.

"Oishi, let me borrow this for a minute nya!"

"Eiji, wait!"

But then Eiji had already plucked the thing out of his hand and dumped it into Kawamura's.

"Hey – BUUUUUUURRRNNIIINNNGG! KAIDOH! MOMOSHIRO!"

Clapping his hands in glee, Eiji jumped up and down as he watched Taka-san stalk of to the fighting duo. So, he had solved that problem. Now, he'd go off to fix the another, which currently was between his most recent partner-in-crime and his featherly mother-henned friend. He had to solve this problem quickly…..they were in the middle of a spying spree for crying outloud! Nya! When would they ever learn?

Pouncing unexpectedly on Inui, Eiji pulled the dataman away from his Golden Pair partner.

"Nya, nya, nya! What's the matter ,nya?" he asked them both.

" Oishi, you saw where the two were going, and there's a 95% probability that your answer will be the same as Kaidoh's."

"Ehehe, what are you talking about, Inui? I saw them going down by the hall…," Oishi bluffed.

Inui didn't take the bait though and Eiji and Oishi both knew they were both in big trouble when he magically popped his latest horrifying concoction before their very eyes.

"Do you want Fuji to make a mistake and ruin everything with our little Nadeshiko-san? Huh?" Inui waved two glasses in front of them.

They both gulped.

"Uh…but….but…,"

"Nya, Oishi and Kaidoh saw them going in the storage room nya!"

Grinning eerily, Inui put the drinks down. It was disappointing to lose his chance at making the two into human guinea pigs but having its answer from Eiji overshadowed it all.

"Ahh….my data is correct. You are 20% smarter than you actually seem, Kikumaru Eiji!"

Naturally, Eiji bubbled over the compliment and pranced about merrily.

" Eiji, behave yourself will you!" chided Oishi in irritation. "You weren't supposed to say that! We aren't even supposed to do this! We should be leaving Fujiko and Sakuno-chan alone!"

Poor Oishi. No one was listening to him at all. Ouch. ( It hurts when you're a mommy chicken with a worry-wart complex and then your being ignored by your very own chicketies)

"Eiji."

"Hai?" he paused midstep so he looked like a prima on his toes, " What is it inui?"

"It's time for the second phase. Check up the storage room," Inui ordered.

"Eiji," Oishi pleaded, "Please, don't!"

Eiji had already bounded off. Oishi sighed heavily. He really hoped everything would be alright but when five minutes passed without a word from Eiji, the golden pair partner was already dying in anxiety.

"What if…what if….what if….."

"Oishi," he heard Inui say. " Go and check up on Eiji."

Inui watched as his former teammate went off.

Another five minutes had passed and Inui did no still see any sign of the two coming back. He adjusted his glasses that gleamed and did the same thing again and again with Kaidoh, Momo and then Taka-san. Send one to check things out, wait for five minutes, and then find no one coming back.

Some thing was totally off here.

This wasn't in the probability of his data. Not at all.

"Tezuka might probably know about this – oh – he turned his phone off," he fingered his cellphone then closed it shut, "100% probability he did that hours ago."

Cramming the gadget into the pocket of his pants, Inui took decisive steps towards the storage room from the corner where he had been standing in or rather 'pretend to hide in'.

There wa 10% probability they all got lost , 35% they all got distracted. 50% they ran into a group of old friends, 70% they were trying to play a prank on him, and 90% this was all Fuji's doing. Inui had to say it was probably him ---though he didn't know what Fuji was really up to.

Turning the knob slowly, Inui took a step in and –puff—a handkerchief was suddenly held over his face and everything went dim. It was odd to think that the dataman's last thoughts before plonking out onto the hard cold floor was how sweet and tipsy the smell of the kerchief was.

Thirty minutes or so (well…give or take an hour or two to that) all of the six superspies of Seigaku tennis club had finally groaned themselves awake. The strong sweet flowery scent was still wafting under their noses and somehow when they opened their eyes wide the six troublemakers found themselves in a pink make-up room.

Didn't the sign over the door read 'storage room' earlier?

"Uh ….minna…nya…" Eiji pointed down at himself and then blushed at the rest of them. All of them looked back at Eiji in absolute shock. Their eyes made way to look back at themselves. Pink, lavender, frilly, sexy, girly outfits. Rouge, make up and wigs. Oh – and all six of them were in it all. Oh. My. God.

* * *

The entire building could hear their quaking voices.

"Ugggghhh! FUJI SYUUSUKE!!!"

* * *

Somewhere, inside a nice, homey little cottage, a certain brunette was chuckling at the video being sent over his personal touch phone. Digging the back of his head deeper onto the cushion of his pillow, his smile grew wider by the second.

"Ne, anata, what is that?" a sweet female muffled voice came through from the restroom.

"Nothing, nothing!" the man qipped, stopping the video when his wife came out of the bathroom in a towel drenched from head to toe. "It was jus t Inui and the rest saying thank you! I wasn't being evil to them at all."

Gently shaking her head at him, Sakuno moved to where he was lying strewn on the bed. Capturing his smiling lips in a teasing kiss, she spread herself across him, letting the water pelt down . With a deeper kiss, she gently tugged the phone out of his hold.

"Mou, Syuusuke-kun, you really are hopeless," she opened the video which promptly made Fuji tug the phone back.

"Don't worry koishi, they're just playing dress-up! I swear, I didn't try to torture them, I wasn't being evil to them."

Suddenly, the his voice turned huskier as he pulled his wife nearer to him. "I can only be truly evil to one person….and that person is you…..anata."

Giggles. Laughter. Their lives were certainly going to be a whole lot interesting from now on.

(You can use your imagination if you want to, though : P )

OWARI

FIN

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**A/N: **Ohayou minna-san! Mou osoi, dakara honto ni gomenasai minna! Ah, anou, to, omedeto gozaimasu minna! Happy New Year everyone! Phew, its been, two, three, months since I last updated...It really feels so good to be back! Well, yes, this is the end of the story and I'm really sad to leave it this way but wow, I couldnt be happier. Finally, my first fanfic ever is now a complete work of art! :D All smiles! Sorry for the delay though. I really finished the story earlier back in October but I never got to type it because of this grand heck of a schedule for my life.

Oh, yes, dont think I forgot minna! Here's my love to my dearest reviewers of the last thirteen chapters! You dont know how happy you've made me guys! But I'll be even more happy if you add more reviews to Chap 14! Pretty, pretty please? With suger on top? I'll be counting on it then! P.S. To those who will review chap 14, I just might dedicate a whole page for you! :D You can really make my day brighter if you just click that little button down there.....:}

hEy, mInNa, the names here aren't in any particular order so....here goes!

* * *

TO MY LOVING REVIEWERS....

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rebeccasanfujieijilvr

Jessicha Therese

GoldenDoe06

t0m03-cHAn

VALLED

maxyne09

sand-storm94

blacknight

pussycatdoll

mysweetkat

dark night

neko-koo

c

Dainty Sue

Honoo no Shana-hime

* * *

Thank you All sooooo much! You dont know how all of your reviews mean to me! Both good and bad, i loved them all! They made me do my best, and, well, I just want you to know that I appreciate that! Honto ni Arigatout minna!


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